Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.06, FiscalAI reports.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1.33. 289,693 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,068. The company has a quick ratio of 13.93, a current ratio of 13.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.09 and a 1 year high of $1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLRX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $4.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 89,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.28, for a total transaction of $114,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 505,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $647,169.28. The trade was a 15.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its holdings in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

About Pliant Therapeutics

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).