Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Price Target Lowered to $45.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $54.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 221.66% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.88.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLRX traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.99. The stock had a trading volume of 130,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 381,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 17.72 and a quick ratio of 17.72. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $11.21 and a 1-year high of $24.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $843.88 million, a P/E ratio of -5.00 and a beta of 1.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 97.3% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $107,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $197,000. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. 97.30% of the stock is owned by 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.