Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Saturday . The company traded as low as $7.18 and last traded at $7.79, with a volume of 4662321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.97.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 70,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 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 transaction of $587,092.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 1,812 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 459,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,050,000 after buying an additional 2,721 shares during the period. 97.30% of the stock is currently 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.