Fernwood Investment Management LLC Has $7.66 Million Position in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 423,177 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,475 shares during the quarter. Pliant Therapeutics comprises approximately 1.9% of Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pliant Therapeutics were worth $7,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 55,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 5,173 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 353.2% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $426,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 6.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,945,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,072,000 after buying an additional 168,454 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PLRX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $12.09. 262,795 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 383,313. The company has a market cap of $729.27 million, a PE ratio of -4.33 and a beta of 1.12. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. has a one year low of $11.21 and a one year high of $24.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 17.72 and a current ratio of 17.72.

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.