Critical Analysis: Aris Mining (NYSE:ARMN) & Northern Dynasty Minerals (NASDAQ:NAK)

Northern Dynasty Minerals (NASDAQ:NAK) and Aris Mining (NYSE:ARMN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Northern Dynasty Minerals and Aris Mining”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northern Dynasty Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.12)	-16.92
Aris Mining	$770.18 million	4.94	$11.42 million	$0.15	123.53

Aris Mining has higher revenue and earnings than Northern Dynasty Minerals. Northern Dynasty Minerals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aris Mining, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Northern Dynasty Minerals and Aris Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Dynasty Minerals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Aris Mining	-0.66%	4.97%	2.70%

Risk & Volatility

Northern Dynasty Minerals has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aris Mining has a beta of -0.55, suggesting that its share price is 155% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Northern Dynasty Minerals and Aris Mining, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Dynasty Minerals	0	0	1	0	3.00
Aris Mining	0	0	3	1	3.25

Northern Dynasty Minerals presently has a consensus price target of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.15%. Aris Mining has a consensus price target of $17.00, indicating a potential downside of 8.26%. Given Northern Dynasty Minerals’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Northern Dynasty Minerals is more favorable than Aris Mining.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

10.6% of Northern Dynasty Minerals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.8% of Aris Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Northern Dynasty Minerals 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

Aris Mining beats Northern Dynasty Minerals on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northern Dynasty Minerals

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. engages in the exploration of mineral properties in the United States. Its principal mineral property is the Pebble Copper-Gold-Molybdenum-Silver-Rhenium project comprising 1,840 mineral claims that covers an area of approximately 274 square miles located in southwest Alaska, 17 miles from the villages of Iliamna and Newhalen, and approximately 200 miles southwest of the city of Anchorage. The company was formerly known as Northern Dynasty Explorations Ltd. and changed its name to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. in October 1997. Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Aris Mining

Aris Mining Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold properties in Canada, Colombia, and Guyana. It also explores for silver and copper deposits. The company was formerly known as GCM Mining Corp. and changed its name to Aris Mining Corporation in September 2022. Aris Mining Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada.