Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.09, Zacks reports.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of PLRX stock opened at $1.35 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.42. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $1.09 and a 52 week high of $1.95. The company has a market cap of $83.59 million, a PE ratio of -0.55 and a beta of 1.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PLRX. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 505,601 shares in the company, valued at $647,169.28. The trade was a 15.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 18,300 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchased a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $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 ?v?1 and ?v?6 integrins in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).