Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 149,198 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the previous session’s volume of 457,248 shares.The stock last traded at $12.48 and had previously closed at $11.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PLRX. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday. Eight 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.57.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 5.5 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $12.86 and a 200 day moving average of $13.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 14.47 and a current ratio of 14.47.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.85) by ($0.07). On average, research analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $126,131.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,261,249.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Keith Lamont Cummings sold 10,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total transaction of $126,131.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,261,249.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 38,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.56, for a total value of $447,487.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,582,740.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,596 shares of company stock worth $804,530 in the last ninety days. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth about $107,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,652 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $126,000. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.