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Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (PLRX) Stock Jumps 159%: Will It Continue to Soar?

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Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. (PLRX - Free Report) shares rallied 159% in the last trading session to close at $23. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 28% gain over the past four weeks.

Share prices skyrocketed after management announced positive data from the phase IIa INTEGRIS-IPF study which evaluated its lead pipeline candidate PLN-74809 in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The study achieved its primary and secondary endpoints. Data from the study demonstrated that PLN-74809 was well tolerated over a 12-week treatment period and exhibited a favorable pharmacokinetic profile.

This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.82 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -28.1%. Revenues are expected to be $1.37 million, down 23.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Pliant Therapeutics, Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on PLRX going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. is a member of the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. One other stock in the same industry, Clene Inc. (CLNN - Free Report) , finished the last trading session 2.5% lower at $2.73. CLNN has returned -32% over the past month.

Clene Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$0.20. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +4.8%. Clene Inc. currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).


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