Critical Analysis: Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) vs. Trevi Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TRVI)

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) and Trevi Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TRVI) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pliant Therapeutics and Trevi Therapeutics’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pliant Therapeutics	$1.58 million	477.34	-$161.34 million	($2.79)	-4.49
Trevi Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$29.07 million	($0.29)	-9.78

Trevi Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Pliant Therapeutics. Trevi Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pliant Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.3% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.8% of Trevi Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 27.5% of Trevi Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Pliant Therapeutics has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trevi Therapeutics has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Pliant Therapeutics and Trevi Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pliant Therapeutics	0	0	9	0	3.00
Trevi Therapeutics	0	0	2	0	3.00

Pliant Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $49.00, indicating a potential upside of 291.37%. Trevi Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 199.82%. Given Pliant Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Pliant Therapeutics is more favorable than Trevi Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Pliant Therapeutics and Trevi Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pliant Therapeutics	N/A	-31.15%	-29.00%
Trevi Therapeutics	N/A	-31.51%	-28.89%

Summary

Pliant Therapeutics beats Trevi Therapeutics on 7 of the 11 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 Trevi Therapeutics

Trevi Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapy Haduvio for the treatment of chronic cough in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and refractory chronic cough (RCC) conditions targeting the central and peripheral nervous systems. The company is developing Haduvio, an oral extended-release formulation of nalbuphine, which is in phase 2b Cough Reduction in IPF with nalbuphine ER (CORAL) clinical trial for treatment of chronic cough in patients with IPF; phase 2a Refractory Chronic Cough Improvement Via NAL ER (RIVER) clinical trial for reducing chronic cough in RCC patients; phase 2 clinical trial in patients with pruritus; phase 2b/3 clinical trial in patients with prurigo nodularis. It has a license agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. to develop and commercialize products incorporating nalbuphine hydrochloride in any formulation. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.