Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Reaches New 1-Year Low at $11.91

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $11.91 and last traded at $11.91, with a volume of 159953 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PLRX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 17.72, a quick ratio of 17.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $14.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $712.38 million, a PE ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 1.12.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Light Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 22.4% during 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 buying an additional 658,516 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Laurion Capital Management LP now owns 3,186,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,254,000 after acquiring an additional 27,941 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,945,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,072,000 after acquiring an additional 168,454 shares in the last quarter. Great Point Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Great Point Partners LLC now owns 1,823,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,018,000 after acquiring an additional 68,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 1,665,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,871,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.