Reviewing Westlake (NYSE:WLK) & Golden Arrow Merger (NASDAQ:GAMC)

Golden Arrow Merger (NASDAQ:GAMC) and Westlake (NYSE:WLK) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Golden Arrow Merger and Westlake, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Golden Arrow Merger	0	0	0	0	N/A
Westlake	1	8	4	0	2.23

Westlake has a consensus price target of $156.75, suggesting a potential upside of 9.59%. Given Westlake’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Westlake is more favorable than Golden Arrow Merger.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Golden Arrow Merger and Westlake’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Golden Arrow Merger	N/A	N/A	-$1.47 million	N/A	N/A
Westlake	$12.55 billion	1.47	$479.00 million	$1.99	71.87

Westlake has higher revenue and earnings than Golden Arrow Merger.

Volatility & Risk

Golden Arrow Merger has a beta of 0.01, indicating that its share price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westlake has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Golden Arrow Merger and Westlake’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Golden Arrow Merger	N/A	N/A	-24.61%
Westlake	2.13%	7.69%	4.01%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

5.5% of Golden Arrow Merger shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.4% of Westlake shares are owned by institutional investors. 77.4% of Golden Arrow Merger shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 74.1% of Westlake shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Westlake beats Golden Arrow Merger on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Golden Arrow Merger

Golden Arrow Merger Corp. does not have significant operations. The company intends to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. It focuses on acquiring companies in the healthcare and healthcare-related infrastructure industries in the United States and other developed countries. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Golden Arrow Merger Corp. is a subsidiary of Golden Arrow Sponsor, LLC.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, chlorinated derivative products, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), epoxy specialty resins, and base epoxy resins and intermediaries, as well as chlor-alkali, such as chlorine and caustic soda. The Housing and Infrastructure Products segment provides residential PVC sidings; PVC trim and mouldings; architectural stone veneers; windows; PVC decking; PVC films for various inflatables, wallcovering, and tape and roofing applications; polymer composite and cement roof tiles; PVC pipes and fittings for various water, sewer, electrical, and industrial applications; PVC compounds used in various housing, medical, and automobile products; and consumer and commercial products, such as landscape edging; industrial, home, and office matting; marine dock edging; and masonry joint controls. It offers its products to chemical processors, plastics fabricators, small construction contractors, municipalities, and supply warehouses for use in various consumer and industrial markets, including residential construction, flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, healthcare products, water treatment, wind turbines, and coatings, as well as other durable and non-durable goods. The company was formerly known as Westlake Chemical Corporation and changed its name to Westlake Corporation in February 2022. Westlake Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Westlake Corporation operates as a subsidiary of TTWF LP.