Brokerages Set Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Price Target at $40.57

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.57.

PLRX has been the topic of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners began coverage on Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of PLRX stock opened at $14.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.61. The company has a quick ratio of 14.47, a current ratio of 14.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.56 million, a PE ratio of -4.53 and a beta of 1.13. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $10.22 and a 52-week high of $19.62.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics will post -3.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 22.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 50.9% in 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 last quarter. Mass General Brigham Inc purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at $4,301,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,478,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,827,000 after buying an additional 412,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Granahan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 1,150,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,840,000 after buying an additional 211,557 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.