Q1 EPS Estimate for Pliant Therapeutics Boosted by Analyst

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) - Analysts at HC Wainwright raised their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Pliant Therapeutics in a report issued on Tuesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright analyst E. Arce now expects that the company will post earnings of ($0.86) per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of ($0.95). HC Wainwright has a "Neutral" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Pliant Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($3.64) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Pliant Therapeutics' Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.50) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.51) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.65) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($2.49) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($2.71) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($1.47) EPS and FY2028 earnings at $0.04 EPS.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners lowered Pliant Therapeutics from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $2.00 in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Leerink Partnrs cut Pliant Therapeutics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.31.

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Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 9.4 %

PLRX stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,217,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 861,504. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.39. The company has a market capitalization of $95.83 million, a P/E ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 1.18. Pliant Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $1.26 and a 1 year high of $16.52. The company has a current ratio of 10.26, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17.

Insider Transactions at Pliant Therapeutics

In related news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $112,427.70. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $775,278.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total value of $587,092.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. This represents a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $14,761,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 139,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,838,000 after acquiring an additional 21,637 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 127,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 15,635 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Pliant Therapeutics by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 4,570 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its position in Pliant Therapeutics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 3,197,050 shares of the company's stock worth $42,105,000 after purchasing an additional 92,564 shares in the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pliant Therapeutics Company Profile

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes novel therapies for the treatment of fibrosis and related diseases in the United States. The company's lead candidate is bexotegrast, an oral, small-molecule, dual selective inhibitor of avß6 and avß1 integrins, which is in phase 2b trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and in phase 2a trial for primary sclerosing cholangitis.