Q1 EPS Forecast for Pliant Therapeutics Raised by Analyst

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLRX) – Research analysts at Leerink Partnrs increased their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Pliant Therapeutics in a report issued 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 forecast 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 earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.82) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Pliant Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Pliant Therapeutics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Pliant Therapeutics from $4.00 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.31.

Pliant Therapeutics Stock Up 12.6 %

Shares of Pliant Therapeutics stock opened at $1.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.66. Pliant Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $1.26 and a 52-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. The firm has a market cap of $92.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Insider Activity

In other Pliant Therapeutics news, insider Hans Hull sold 15,936 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 value of $178,483.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 211,558 shares in the company, valued at $2,369,449.60. This represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $587,092.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 430,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,821,790.40. The trade was a 10.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,628 over the last 90 days. 6.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pliant Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Pliant Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,761,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Pliant Therapeutics by 18.3% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 21,637 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 15,635 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Pliant Therapeutics by 3.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 97.30% of the stock is 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.