ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Cuts Stock Position in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lowered its stake in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,804 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,672 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Pliant Therapeutics were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,119,000 after buying an additional 19,281 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,402,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,725,000 after buying an additional 26,610 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $342,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,318,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,781,000 after buying an additional 31,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,039,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,657,000 after buying an additional 14,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ PLRX opened at $1.31 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $2.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.39 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.10 and a 1-year high of $16.52.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last announced 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PLRX. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $33.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Pliant Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $178,483.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 211,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total value of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pliant Therapeutics 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.