Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) posted its quarterly earnings data 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 Stock Down 1.6%

PLRX stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $1.20. The company had a trading volume of 185,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,726. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.30 million, a P/E ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.20. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.09 and a 52-week high of $1.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.35.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PLRX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pliant Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 160.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 97,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 60,296 shares in the last quarter. Kotler Kevin bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $113,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 85,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 26,212 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth $97,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $95,000. 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).