Head-To-Head Review: Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) versus Dermata Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DRMA)

Dermata Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DRMA) and Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dermata Therapeutics	N/A	-191.95%	-140.15%
Pliant Therapeutics	N/A	-68.71%	-51.47%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

8.7% of Dermata Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.5% of Dermata Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Dermata Therapeutics has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pliant Therapeutics has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Dermata Therapeutics and Pliant Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dermata Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$12.29 million	($7.81)	-0.19
Pliant Therapeutics	$1.58 million	50.55	-$149.34 million	($2.44)	-0.53

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dermata Therapeutics	1	0	1	0	2.00
Pliant Therapeutics	2	2	1	0	1.80

Dermata Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 584.93%. Pliant Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 132.56%. Given Dermata Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Dermata Therapeutics is more favorable than Pliant Therapeutics.

Summary

Pliant Therapeutics beats Dermata Therapeutics on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dermata Therapeutics

Dermata Therapeutics, Inc., a late-stage medical dermatology company, focuses on identifying, developing, and commercializing pharmaceutical product candidates for the treatment of medical and aesthetic skin conditions and diseases. The company's lead product candidate is DMT310, which has completed Phase IIb clinical trial for treatment of moderate-to-severe acne; and Phase Ib proof of concept (POC) trial for Mild-to-Moderate Psoriasis, as well as is in a Phase 2 clinical trial for treatment of moderate-to-severe rosacea. It is also developing DMT410 that has completed Phase Ib POC trials for the treatment of anxillary hyperhidrosis and aesthetic conditions. Dermata Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

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.