Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Shares Up 6.7% – Here’s Why

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) shot up 6.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $12.09 and last traded at $12.14. 83,431 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 471,568 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 34.8 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.97. The firm has a market cap of $474.02 million, a PE ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 10.26, a current ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.04. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $587,092.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. This represents a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 13,270 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $148,624.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 80,774 shares in the company, valued at $904,668.80. This trade represents a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $112,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $145,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

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.