Analysts Set Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) PT at $45.38

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.38.

PLRX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $54.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. First Light Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 3,591,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,047,000 after purchasing an additional 658,516 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 50.9% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,377,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,522,000 after purchasing an additional 464,860 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 13.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,827,000 after purchasing an additional 412,486 shares during the period. Redmile Group LLC grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 14.9% during the first quarter. Redmile Group LLC now owns 3,097,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,149,000 after purchasing an additional 400,572 shares during the period. Finally, Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $5,733,000. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 3.2 %

NASDAQ PLRX opened at $11.51 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $13.31 and its 200 day moving average is $15.25. Pliant Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $10.60 and a twelve month high of $24.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 16.12 and a current ratio of 16.12.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.78) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by ($0.02). On average, equities analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.