Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Receives $40.50 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.50.

Several research firms have weighed in on PLRX. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Friday, November 8th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $13.49 on Monday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $10.22 and a 12 month high of $19.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $820.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.04 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLRX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 14.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 228,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,458,000 after buying an additional 29,629 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 67,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 96,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 14,662 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 52.0% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 833,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,957,000 after purchasing an additional 285,216 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.