Analyzing Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) and American Lithium (NASDAQ:AMLI)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) and American Lithium (NASDAQ:AMLI) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.7% of American Lithium shares are held by institutional investors. 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Lithium has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and American Lithium’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	3.09%	2.51%
American Lithium	N/A	-19.40%	-18.92%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and American Lithium’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29 billion	$7.99	0.33
American Lithium	N/A	N/A	-$29.55 million	($0.14)	-3.04

American Lithium is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lithium Americas (Argentina), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Lithium Americas (Argentina) and American Lithium, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0	4	4	1	2.67
American Lithium	0	0	1	1	3.50

Lithium Americas (Argentina) currently has a consensus target price of $8.21, suggesting a potential upside of 210.92%. American Lithium has a consensus target price of $3.25, suggesting a potential upside of 664.53%. Given American Lithium’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Lithium is more favorable than Lithium Americas (Argentina).

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats American Lithium on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. operates as a resource company. The company explores for lithium deposits. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province of Argentina. It also has a pipeline of development and exploration stage projects, including the Pastos Grandes project and the Sal de la Puna project located in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina. Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About American Lithium

American Lithium Corp., an exploration and development stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties in the United States. It principally focuses on the TLC Lithium Project located in the town of Tonopah, Nevada; and the Falchani Lithium project and the Macusani Uranium project located in Puno, Peru. The company was formerly known as Menika Mining Ltd. and changed its name to American Lithium Corp. in April 2016. American Lithium Corp. was incorporated in 1974 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.