Leerink Partnrs Brokers Raise Earnings Estimates for PLRX

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs increased their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Pliant Therapeutics in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 3rd. Leerink Partnrs analyst F. Khurshid now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of ($1.00) for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of ($1.01). Leerink Partnrs 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.

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.99) by $0.17.

PLRX has been the subject of several other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $4.00 price target (down from $43.00) on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Pliant Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. 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 report on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics Trading Up 12.6 %

NASDAQ:PLRX opened at $1.52 on Thursday. Pliant Therapeutics has a one year low of $1.26 and a one year high of $16.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 10.26 and a current ratio of 10.26. The firm has a market cap of $92.50 million, a P/E ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.66.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bernard Coulie sold 52,419 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 430,517 shares in the company, valued at $4,821,790.40. This trade represents a 10.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,369,449.60. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628. 6.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pliant Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PLRX. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 1,299.0% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Pliant Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $112,000. 97.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.