Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Cut to Neutral at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Pliant Therapeutics’ FY2029 earnings at $1.75 EPS.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 4.2 %

PLRX opened at $2.72 on Monday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $2.43 and a 12 month high of $18.00. The company has a market cap of $165.52 million, a PE ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50 day moving average of $12.18 and a 200 day moving average of $12.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $112,427.70. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at $775,278.56. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 211,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 91,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 64,422 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $112,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,402,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,725,000 after acquiring an additional 26,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 265.2% during the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 170,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 123,600 shares in 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.