** Drug developer Pliant Therapeutics' shares PLRX.O fall 55.9% to $3.43 premarket

** Late Friday, co said it voluntarily paused enrollment and dosing in mid-stage trial testing its experimental lead drug, bexotegrast, to treat a type of lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

** Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic lung disease that causes scarring and stiffening of the organ's tissue

** At least 3 brokerages downgrade stock

** "This could turn out to be nothing, or it could spell the end for bexotegrast" - brokerage H.C. Wainwright

** Brokerage RBC Capital Markets also cuts to "sector perform" from "outperform", and slashes PT to $4 from $45

** Best-case scenario for co would be resuming study, but this may require some modification of the trial, which may lead to disruption and add risks - RBC

** Stock was down 26% in 2024

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan)

((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com;))