Trevi Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TRVI – Get Free Report) and Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.
Risk and Volatility
Trevi Therapeutics has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pliant Therapeutics has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
95.8% of Trevi Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 27.5% of Trevi Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Trevi Therapeutics | N/A | N/A | -$29.07 million | ($0.29) | -9.19 |
| Pliant Therapeutics | $1.58 million | 505.56 | -$161.34 million | ($2.79) | -4.75 |
Trevi Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Trevi Therapeutics and Pliant Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Trevi Therapeutics | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Pliant Therapeutics | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 |
Trevi Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 218.95%. Pliant Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $49.00, indicating a potential upside of 269.53%. Given Pliant Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Pliant Therapeutics is more favorable than Trevi Therapeutics.
Profitability
This table compares Trevi Therapeutics and Pliant Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Trevi Therapeutics | N/A | -31.51% | -28.89% |
| Pliant Therapeutics | N/A | -31.15% | -29.00% |
Summary
Pliant Therapeutics beats Trevi Therapeutics on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
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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