Pliant Therapeutics, Inc. — financial distress indicators
Financial-health summary
Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.'s reported numbers place it in the 'Watch' financial-health band (distress score 45/100). The main indicators are losses in each of the last 3 years, operations consume cash and ohlson o-score signals likely failure. Independently, the Ohlson accounting model puts its 1-year failure probability at 98% and the market-implied (Merton) default probability is 0.2%. In its favour: cash on hand covers all debt (net-cash balance sheet).
Stress by dimension
Share price — last 12 months
Indicators behind the score
Each red flag shows the evidence from the company’s own filings and the financial or legal principle behind it. Points add to the 0–100 score.
Net income negative in 3 of 3 fiscal years.
Persistent losses erode equity and the capacity to absorb shocks.
Operating cash flow negative in 3 of the last 3 years.
A business that cannot fund itself from operations depends on external capital to survive.
O-score 3.97 → model probability 98%.
Ohlson (1980) logit model of 1-year corporate failure; O > 0 (p > 50%) is the original failure cut-off.
Cash covers ~19 months of free-cash-flow burn.
Funding needs within two years make the company dependent on capital-market access.
Operating margin fell from -100% to -11655% in two years.
Sharp margin compression signals loss of pricing power or cost control.
Revenue vs net income
Cash generation
Debt vs cash vs equity
✅ Mitigating factors
- Cash on hand covers all debt (net-cash balance sheet).
- Strong current ratio (16.89).
📰 Recent news scan
- Pliant Therapeutics Appoints David Raben, M.D., as Chief Medical OfficerYahoo Finance · 2026-09-30
- Pliant Therapeutics Receives FDA Fast Track Designation for PLN-101095 in Combination with Pembrolizumab for the Treatment of ICI-Refractory Solid TumorsYahoo Finance · 2026-08-18
- Pliant Therapeutics Provides Corporate Update and Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial ResultsYahoo Finance · 2026-08-11
- Pliant Therapeutics Names Flavia Borellini, Ph.D. and Robert Iannone, M.D., M.S.C.E. to Board of DirectorsYahoo Finance · 2026-07-13
- Pliant Therapeutics to Participate in the RBC Capital Markets Global Healthcare ConferenceYahoo Finance · 2026-05-06
- Pliant Therapeutics Announces Presentation of Updated Data from the Phase 1 Trial of PLN-101095 in Patients with ICI-Refractory Solid Tumors at the 2026 AACR Annual MeetingYahoo Finance · 2026-04-18
⚖️ U.S. legal pathway — Title 11, U.S. Code
Which chapter would apply?
- Chapter 11 — reorganisation. Management usually stays in control as debtor-in-possession; the automatic stay (§362) halts collection; a plan must meet the best-interests test (§1129(a)(7)) and the absolute priority rule (§1129(b)) — creditors are paid before shareholders, who are frequently wiped out.
- Chapter 7 — liquidation. A trustee sells assets and distributes proceeds by statutory priority (§§507, 726).
- Subchapter V (“Chapter 5”) is a fast track for small-business debtors under a statutory debt cap, but SEC-reporting companies are excluded (§101(51D)) — so it rarely applies to listed companies.
What typically triggers a filing
- Payment default or covenant breach lenders will not waive; a debt maturity that cannot be refinanced.
- Auditor going-concern doubt (ASC 205-40 / PCAOB AS 2415) — often itself a default trigger in loan agreements.
- Creditors can force a case with an involuntary petition (§303) if debts are not paid as they come due.
- Delisting after sustained sub-$1 prices or equity deficits cuts off equity funding.
Transactions shortly before filing can be clawed back (preferences — 90 days, §547; fraudulent transfers — 2 years, §548).
Frequently asked questions
What do Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.'s financial-health indicators show?
As of 2026-10-08, Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.'s public financial data places it in the 'Watch' band with a distress score of 45/100, driven by losses in each of the last 3 years, operations consume cash and ohlson o-score signals likely failure. This is a statistical screen of reported numbers — it does not mean the company is insolvent, has defaulted or will enter insolvency proceedings.
What is Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.'s financial distress score?
45/100 ('Watch'). Ohlson O-score 3.97 (model 1-year failure probability 98%). Merton distance-to-default 2.82 σ (model default probability 0.2%).
What works in Pliant Therapeutics, Inc.'s favour?
Cash on hand covers all debt (net-cash balance sheet). Strong current ratio (16.89).
How are shareholders treated if a company enters insolvency?
In a Chapter 11 reorganisation the absolute priority rule pays secured lenders, then unsecured creditors, before shareholders — so existing shares are usually cancelled or heavily diluted. In Chapter 7 the company is liquidated and shareholders rarely recover anything.
Other Pharma & Biotech companies with distress indicators
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Methodology
Score = capped sum of rule-based red flags across seven dimensions (liquidity, solvency, profitability, cash flow, sales trend, market signal, news). Ohlson O-score (1980) gives an accounting-based 1-year failure probability; Merton distance-to-default (Bharath & Shumway 2008) gives a market-implied probability. Financial institutions use a capital-based rule set. Recalculated every trading day from the latest filings, prices and news.