Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.36) by $0.04, FiscalAI reports.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of PLRX stock traded down $0.02 on Monday, reaching $1.20. The company had a trading volume of 185,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,726. The stock has a market cap of $74.30 million, a PE ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1.29 and a 200-day moving average of $1.35. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $1.09 and a 12 month high of $1.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLRX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Pliant Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 18,300 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc (NASDAQ: PLRX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel therapies for fibrotic diseases. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Pliant applies a precision medicine approach to target integrin-mediated signaling pathways implicated in the development and progression of fibrosis across organ systems.

The company’s lead product candidate, PLN-74809, is an oral small molecule designed to inhibit both αvβ1 and αvβ6 integrins in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).