Financial Contrast: American Lithium (OTCMKTS:LIACF) versus U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU)

U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) and American Lithium (OTCMKTS:LIACF) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for U.S. Gold and American Lithium, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Gold	0	0	2	1	3.33
American Lithium	0	0	0	0	0.00

U.S. Gold presently has a consensus target price of $11.50, indicating a potential upside of 86.39%. Given U.S. Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe U.S. Gold is more favorable than American Lithium.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares U.S. Gold and American Lithium”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.90 million	($1.00)	-6.17
American Lithium	N/A	N/A	-$18.80 million	($0.11)	-3.40

U.S. Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Lithium, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.6% of U.S. Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of American Lithium shares are held by institutional investors. 9.8% of U.S. Gold shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

U.S. Gold has a beta of 1.5, meaning that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Lithium has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares U.S. Gold and American Lithium’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Gold	N/A	-42.74%	-32.16%
American Lithium	N/A	-16.28%	-15.96%

Summary

U.S. Gold beats American Lithium on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U.S. Gold

U.S. Gold Corp. engages in the exploration and development of gold and precious metals in the United States. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company holds 100% interests in the CK Gold project, which consists of various mining leases and other mineral rights covering approximately 1,120 acres in Laramie County, Wyoming; the Keystone project that consists of 601 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 20 square miles in Eureka County, Nevada; and the Challis Gold project, which consists of 77 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 1,710 acres in Lemhi County, Idaho. It also has earn-in agreement to acquire a 50% ownership interest in the Maggie Creek project located in Eureka County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Dataram Corporation and changed its name to U.S. Gold Corp. in June 2017. U.S. Gold Corp. is based in Elko, Nevada.

About American Lithium

American Lithium Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in the identification, acquisition, exploration, and development of resource properties in the United States. It principally focuses on the TLC Claystones project covering an area of approximately 5,052 hectares 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 headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.