Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, a decline of 51.0% from the January 31st total of 7,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLRX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $4.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $4.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $38.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $178,483.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 211,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 13,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $148,624.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 80,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $904,668.80. The trade was a 14.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. Company insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in 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 worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 23.2% during the third quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 157,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,762,000 after buying an additional 29,583 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 91,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 64,422 shares during the last quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 3.4% during the third quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC now owns 513,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after buying an additional 16,850 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $112,000. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.44. 3,924,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 706,337. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.03 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 has a fifty-two week low of $2.43 and a fifty-two week high of $17.00.

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.