Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) CEO Sells $587,092.80 in Stock

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $587,092.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. This represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $11.14 on Friday. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $13.18 and a 200-day moving average of $13.06. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.22 and a 52 week high of $18.92. The company has a market capitalization of $677.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.34 and a beta of 1.05.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.04. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Great Point Partners LLC grew its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 42.4% in the second quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 2,636,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,346,000 after acquiring an additional 785,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,402,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,725,000 after purchasing an additional 26,610 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,781,000 after purchasing an additional 31,221 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,039,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,657,000 after purchasing an additional 14,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fernwood Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC now owns 513,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after purchasing an additional 16,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

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.