Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Price Target Lowered to $45.00 at Oppenheimer

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) had its target price trimmed by Oppenheimer from $48.00 to $45.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

PLRX has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reiterated a buy rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $12.28. 451,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,305. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $10.29 and a 12-month high of $19.88. The company has a current ratio of 16.12, a quick ratio of 16.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $12.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.91.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.02). As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 38,710 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $447,487.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,582,740.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Pliant Therapeutics news, insider Eric Lefebvre sold 12,319 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $142,407.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 213,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,462,881.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 38,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $447,487.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,740.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 69,596 shares of company stock valued at $804,530. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 55,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 5,173 shares during the last quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC now owns 423,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,664,000 after acquiring an additional 43,475 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,682,000 after acquiring an additional 5,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 342,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,197,000 after purchasing an additional 71,369 shares during the period. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pliant Therapeutics

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis and related diseases in the United States. The company's lead candidate is bexotegrast, an oral, small-molecule, dual selective inhibitor of avß6 and avß1 integrins, which is in phase 2b trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and in phase 2a trial for primary sclerosing cholangitis.