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 Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX opened at $1.33 on Thursday. Pliant Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $1.09 and a 12-month high of $1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $81.73 million, a PE ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 13.94 and a quick ratio of 13.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $1.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 89,375 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.28, for a total transaction of $114,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 505,601 shares in the company, valued at $647,169.28. The trade was a 15.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLRX. Rangeley Capital LLC increased its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 20.4% during the second quarter. Rangeley Capital LLC now owns 60,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 10,220 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 17.7% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 104,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 15,692 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 139.4% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 18,300 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 42.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 68,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.30% of the company’s stock.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

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).