Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 97.3% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $197,000. Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $12.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $754.20 million, a PE ratio of -4.49 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 17.72 and a quick ratio of 17.72. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $12.00 and a 12 month high of $30.85.

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.