Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Trading 6.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) was up 6.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $12.09 and last traded at $12.14. Approximately 83,431 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 471,568 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26. The company has a market capitalization of $769.33 million, a PE ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.98.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.95) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.04. Equities analysts forecast that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $587,092.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. The trade was a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $775,278.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 over the last ninety days. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 160,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 3,305 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 95,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,822 shares during the period. 97.30% of the stock is 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.