Q1 EPS Estimate for Pliant Therapeutics Boosted by Analyst

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) – Leerink Partnrs upped their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Pliant Therapeutics in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, March 3rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst F. Khurshid now expects that the company will post earnings of ($1.00) per share for the quarter, up from their prior 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.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on PLRX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, February 10th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $4.00 target price (down previously from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ PLRX opened at $1.62 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.58 million, a PE ratio of -0.49 and a beta of 1.18. Pliant Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $1.26 and a fifty-two week high of $16.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 10.26 and a quick ratio of 10.26.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, General Counsel Mike Ouimette sold 10,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.99, for a total transaction of $112,427.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 70,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,278.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.20, for a total transaction of $178,483.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

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

About Pliant Therapeutics

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.