Bernard Coulie Sells 52,419 Shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) Stock

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $587,092.80. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

Pliant Therapeutics stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.92. 700,759 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,935. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.24 and a 200 day moving average of $13.08. The firm has a market cap of $664.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.27 and a beta of 1.05. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.22 and a 12 month high of $18.92.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.95) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.04. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target 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, Pliant Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 1.4% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 83,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 95,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 3,822 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 4,607 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,282,000 after acquiring an additional 5,152 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 27.2% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 6,579 shares during the period. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

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.