Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Performance

PLRX stock opened at $1.03 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.20. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.03 and a one year high of $1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $63.78 million, a PE ratio of -0.56 and a beta of 1.24.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1,875.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,514,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after buying an additional 2,386,789 shares during the period. Prosight Management LP increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 7,493.8% during the fourth quarter. Prosight Management LP now owns 1,555,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 1,535,257 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 307.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,958,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477,336 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 260.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,080,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 780,667 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 181.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 783,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 505,097 shares during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pliant Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

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).