Granahan Investment Management LLC Has $6.94 Million Position in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

Granahan Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 527,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 211,105 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pliant Therapeutics were worth $6,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 66.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,551,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,500 shares in the last quarter. Silverarc Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $17,326,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,045,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,770,000 after buying an additional 5,673 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 900,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,854,000 after acquiring an additional 66,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,556,000. Institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $1.41 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.89. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $1.10 and a one year high of $16.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.55 million, a PE ratio of -0.42 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLRX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.31.

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.