Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Stock Holdings Cut by Fernwood Investment Management LLC

Fernwood Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 425,424 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87,712 shares during the quarter. Pliant Therapeutics accounts for 1.9% of Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Fernwood Investment Management LLC owned about 0.70% of Pliant Therapeutics worth $5,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of PLRX stock opened at $1.23 on Wednesday. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.20 and a fifty-two week high of $16.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.66. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $75.01 million, a PE ratio of -0.37 and a beta of 1.46.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17. Equities analysts expect that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $2.00 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price target (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Pliant Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.31.

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.