Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives $40.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PLRX shares. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PLRX. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,372,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 253,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 177,469 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 52.0% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 833,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,957,000 after acquiring an additional 285,216 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 91,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 64,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $13.56 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.18 million, a PE ratio of -4.06 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.98 and its 200 day moving average is $12.90. Pliant Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $10.22 and a fifty-two week high of $19.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

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.