Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

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

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 4.3%

Pliant Therapeutics stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1.33. The company had a trading volume of 289,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 830,068. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 13.93 and a current ratio of 13.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $1.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.43. 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 topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.00.

Insider Activity at Pliant Therapeutics

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 89,375 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.28, for a total transaction of $114,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 505,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $647,169.28. The trade was a 15.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 1,875.0% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,514,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386,789 shares during the period. Prosight Management LP increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 7,493.8% during the 4th quarter. Prosight Management LP now owns 1,555,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after buying an additional 1,535,257 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 307.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,958,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,272,000 after buying an additional 1,477,336 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted 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 valued at $1,318,000 after buying an additional 780,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 181.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 783,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 505,097 shares during the last quarter. 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 ?v?1 and ?v?6 integrins in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).