Q1 EPS Forecast for Pliant Therapeutics Increased by Analyst

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX - Free Report) - Analysts at Leerink Partnrs lifted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report issued on Monday, March 3rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst F. Khurshid now anticipates that the company will earn ($1.00) per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of ($1.01). Leerink Partnrs currently has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Pliant Therapeutics' current full-year earnings is ($3.64) per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Pliant Therapeutics' Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.55) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.51) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at ($0.47) EPS, FY2025 earnings at ($2.53) EPS and FY2026 earnings at ($2.14) EPS.

PLRX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $1.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $4.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pliant Therapeutics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.31.

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Pliant Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLRX traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1.43. 2,090,416 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 856,040. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $8.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.47. The stock has a market cap of $87.57 million, a P/E ratio of -0.43 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 10.26, a current ratio of 10.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.26 and a one year high of $16.52.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 233.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 91,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 64,422 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in Pliant Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $112,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $388,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $145,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,119,000 after buying an additional 19,281 shares during the period. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Pliant Therapeutics

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $587,092.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 70,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,855 shares of company stock worth $1,026,628 over the last three months. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.