Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX – Get Free Report) and Biomea Fusion (NASDAQ:BMEA – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and earnings.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Pliant Therapeutics and Biomea Fusion”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Pliant Therapeutics | $1.58 million | 58.52 | -$161.34 million | ($3.47) | -0.44 |
| Biomea Fusion | N/A | N/A | -$117.25 million | ($4.01) | -0.62 |
Biomea Fusion has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Pliant Therapeutics. Biomea Fusion is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pliant Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Pliant Therapeutics | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Biomea Fusion | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 3.00 |
Pliant Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $13.31, indicating a potential upside of 781.62%. Biomea Fusion has a consensus target price of $24.64, indicating a potential upside of 889.41%. Given Biomea Fusion’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Biomea Fusion is more favorable than Pliant Therapeutics.
Risk & Volatility
Pliant Therapeutics has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Biomea Fusion has a beta of -0.26, indicating that its share price is 126% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Pliant Therapeutics and Biomea Fusion’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Pliant Therapeutics | N/A | -48.91% | -41.09% |
| Biomea Fusion | N/A | -118.90% | -93.66% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
97.3% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.7% of Biomea Fusion shares are held by institutional investors. 6.4% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 27.6% of Biomea Fusion shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Pliant Therapeutics beats Biomea Fusion on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. It also develops PLN-1474, an oral, small-molecule selective inhibitor of avß1 for the treatment of liver fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; PLN-101095, a dual inhibitor of integrins avß8 and avß1 for the treatment of solid tumors; and PLN-101325 for treatment of muscular dystrophies. Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is based in South San Francisco, California.
About Biomea Fusion
Biomea Fusion, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery and development of covalent small molecule drugs to treat patients with genetically defined cancers and metabolic diseases. Its lead product candidate is BMF-219, a covalent inhibitor of menin for treating patients with liquid and solid tumors and type 2 diabetes. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.
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