Pliant Therapeutics’ (PLRX) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by HC Wainwright in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $38.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 220.95% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of PLRX stock opened at $11.84 on Friday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $10.29 and a 12 month high of $19.62. The company has a current ratio of 14.47, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.22.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). As a group, analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $126,131.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,261,249.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $126,131.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,261,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric Lefebvre sold 12,319 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 213,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,462,881.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,596 shares of company stock valued at $804,530. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $107,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 67.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $126,000. 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.