AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL – Get Free Report) and Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.
Volatility & Risk
AbCellera Biologics has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pliant Therapeutics has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares AbCellera Biologics and Pliant Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| AbCellera Biologics | $75.13 million | 51.58 | -$146.41 million | ($0.54) | -23.41 |
| Pliant Therapeutics | $1.58 million | 38.64 | -$149.34 million | ($1.49) | -0.66 |
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.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
61.4% of AbCellera Biologics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 28.4% of AbCellera Biologics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares AbCellera Biologics and Pliant Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AbCellera Biologics | -248.83% | -17.49% | -12.36% |
| Pliant Therapeutics | N/A | -52.17% | -40.46% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for AbCellera Biologics and Pliant Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AbCellera Biologics | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2.70 |
| Pliant Therapeutics | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
AbCellera Biologics currently has a consensus target price of $13.89, indicating a potential upside of 9.88%. Pliant Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 204.26%. Given Pliant Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Pliant Therapeutics is more favorable than AbCellera Biologics.
Summary
AbCellera Biologics beats Pliant Therapeutics on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
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.
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