Liquidmetal Technologies (OTCMKTS:LQMT) and Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) Financial Analysis

Liquidmetal Technologies (OTCMKTS:LQMT) and Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) are both industrial products companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Liquidmetal Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.8% of Standard Lithium shares are held by institutional investors. 45.4% of Liquidmetal Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Standard Lithium shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Liquidmetal Technologies and Standard Lithium’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Liquidmetal Technologies	-159.90%	-4.35%	-4.18%
Standard Lithium	N/A	-15.67%	-14.05%

Risk and Volatility

Liquidmetal Technologies has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Standard Lithium has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Liquidmetal Technologies and Standard Lithium, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Liquidmetal Technologies	0	0	0	0	N/A
Standard Lithium	0	0	1	0	3.00

Standard Lithium has a consensus price target of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 48.94%. Given Standard Lithium’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Standard Lithium is more favorable than Liquidmetal Technologies.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Liquidmetal Technologies and Standard Lithium”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Liquidmetal Technologies	$510,000.00	N/A	-$2.05 million	N/A	N/A
Standard Lithium	N/A	N/A	$108.82 million	$0.58	4.05

Standard Lithium has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Liquidmetal Technologies.

Summary

Standard Lithium beats Liquidmetal Technologies on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Liquidmetal Technologies

Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc., a materials technology company, designs, develops, and sells custom products and parts from bulk amorphous alloys to various industries in the United States and internationally. The company provides bulk amorphous alloy custom products and parts for applications, which include non-consumer electronic devices, medical products, automotive components, and sports and leisure goods. It offers tooling and prototype parts, such as demonstration parts and test samples for customers with products in development; and engages in product licensing activities. In addition, the company partners with third-party manufacturers and licensees to develop and commercialize liquid metal alloy products. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Lake Forest, California.

About Standard Lithium

Standard Lithium Ltd. explores for, develops, and processes lithium brine properties in the United States. Its flagship project is the Lanxess project with area of approximately 150,000 acres located in southern Arkansas. The company was formerly known as Patriot Petroleum Corp. and changed its name to Standard Lithium Ltd. in December 2016. Standard Lithium Ltd. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.