Adagene (NASDAQ:ADAG – Get Free Report) and Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and dividends.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Adagene and Pliant Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Adagene | $7.67 million | 24.10 | -$17.61 million | N/A | N/A |
| Pliant Therapeutics | $1.58 million | 44.68 | -$149.34 million | ($1.49) | -0.77 |
Profitability
This table compares Adagene and Pliant Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Adagene | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Pliant Therapeutics | N/A | -52.17% | -40.46% |
Volatility and Risk
Adagene has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pliant Therapeutics has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
9.5% of Adagene shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 21.2% of Adagene shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Adagene and Pliant Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Adagene | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2.67 |
| Pliant Therapeutics | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.75 |
Adagene presently has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 156.41%. Pliant Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 163.16%. Given Pliant Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Pliant Therapeutics is more favorable than Adagene.
Summary
Adagene beats Pliant Therapeutics on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Adagene
Adagene Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, engages in the research, development, and production of monoclonal antibody drugs for cancers. The company's product candidates include ADG106, a human ligand-blocking agonistic anti- CD137 IgG4 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that is in Phase 1b/2 clinical trials for the treatment advanced solid tumors and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; ADG126, a masked fully-human anti-CTLA-4 mAb that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment advanced/metastatic solid tumors; and ADG116, a human ligand-blocking anti-CTLA-4 mAb, which is in Phase 1b/2 clinical development for the treatment of advanced/metastatic solid tumors. It also offers ADG104, an anti-PD-L1 mAb that is in Phase 2 clinical development; ADG125, a novel anti-CSF-1R mAb, which is in Phase I clinical trial; ADG206, a masked, Fc engineered anti-CD137 agonistic POWERbody; ADG153, a masked anti-CD47 IgG1 SAFEbody, which is in preclinical for the treatment hematologic and solid tumors; ADG138, novel HER2xCD3 POWERbody, which is in preclinical for the treatment HER2-expressing solid tumors; and ADG152, a v POWERbody, which is in preclinical stage for the treatment off-tumor toxicities, as well as develops anti-CD28 bispecific POWERbody TCEs. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Suzhou, China.
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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