Head to Head Analysis: AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL) & Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX)

Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) and AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Pliant Therapeutics and AbCellera Biologics”s 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	39.19	-$149.34 million	($1.49)	-0.67
AbCellera Biologics	$75.13 million	49.05	-$146.41 million	($0.54)	-22.26

AbCellera Biologics has higher revenue and earnings than Pliant Therapeutics. AbCellera Biologics 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 & Institutional Ownership

97.3% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of AbCellera Biologics shares are held by institutional investors. 8.7% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.4% of AbCellera Biologics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Pliant Therapeutics and AbCellera Biologics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pliant Therapeutics	2	1	1	0	1.75
AbCellera Biologics	1	2	5	1	2.67

Pliant Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 200.00%. AbCellera Biologics has a consensus price target of $13.38, suggesting a potential upside of 11.27%. Given Pliant Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Pliant Therapeutics is more favorable than AbCellera Biologics.

Volatility & Risk

Pliant Therapeutics has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AbCellera Biologics has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pliant Therapeutics	N/A	-52.17%	-40.46%
AbCellera Biologics	-248.83%	-17.49%	-12.36%

Summary

AbCellera Biologics beats Pliant Therapeutics on 11 of the 15 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 AbCellera Biologics

AbCellera Biologics Inc. builds an engine for antibody drug discovery and development. Its engine discovers antibodies from natural immune responses, which are pre-enriched for antibodies. The company’s preclinical products are ABCL635 for metabolic and endocrine conditions; and ABCL575 for atopic dermatitis. It has a research collaboration and license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company; a research collaboration with Confo Therapeutics for the discovery of therapeutic antibody candidates targeting two undisclosed GPCR targets; and strategic collaboration with Biogen Inc. to discover therapeutic antibodies for neurological conditions, as well as collaboration with Viking Global Investors and ArrowMark Partners. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.