Statera Biopharma (NASDAQ:STAB) & Pliant Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PLRX) Financial Analysis

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Statera Biopharma	N/A	N/A	N/A
Pliant Therapeutics	N/A	-41.05%	-36.04%

Risk & Volatility

Statera Biopharma has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pliant Therapeutics has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.3% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Statera Biopharma shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of Pliant Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Statera Biopharma and Pliant Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Statera Biopharma	0	0	0	0	N/A
Pliant Therapeutics	0	0	8	1	3.11

Pliant Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $40.57, indicating a potential upside of 241.80%.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Statera Biopharma and Pliant Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Statera Biopharma	$1.49 million	0.00	-$101.85 million	N/A	N/A
Pliant Therapeutics	$1.58 million	456.77	-$161.34 million	N/A	N/A

Statera Biopharma has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Pliant Therapeutics.

Summary

Pliant Therapeutics beats Statera Biopharma on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Statera Biopharma

Statera BioPharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops novel immunotherapies targeting autoimmune, neutropenia/anemia, emerging viruses, and cancers based on a proprietary platform designed to rebalance the body's immune system and restore homeostasis. The company is developing therapies designed to directly elicit within patients a response of antigen-specific killer T-cells and antibodies, thereby activating essential immune defenses against autoimmune, inflammatory, infectious diseases, and cancers. It has clinical programs for Crohn's disease (STAT-201), hematology (Entolimod), pancreatic cancer (STAT-401), and COVID-19 (STAT-205), as well as fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis. The company was formerly known as Cytocom, Inc. and changed its name to Statera Biopharma, Inc. in September 2021. Statera Biopharma, Inc. is based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

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.