American Lithium (NASDAQ:AMLI) and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) Head-To-Head Analysis

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.7% of American Lithium shares are held by institutional investors. 18.7% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

NioCorp Developments has a beta of -0.28, indicating that its share price is 128% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Lithium has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NioCorp Developments 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
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$11.44 million	($0.85)	-1.64
American Lithium	N/A	N/A	-$29.55 million	($0.10)	-7.10

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

Profitability

This table compares NioCorp Developments and American Lithium’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NioCorp Developments	N/A	-8,973.12%	-206.20%
American Lithium	N/A	-17.25%	-16.87%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for NioCorp Developments and American Lithium, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NioCorp Developments	0	0	1	0	3.00
American Lithium	0	0	1	1	3.50

NioCorp Developments presently has a consensus price target of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 511.51%. American Lithium has a consensus price target of $3.25, suggesting a potential upside of 357.75%. Given NioCorp Developments’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe NioCorp Developments is more favorable than American Lithium.

Summary

American Lithium beats NioCorp Developments on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NioCorp Developments

NioCorp Developments Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral deposits in North America. It owns and develops the Elk Creek niobium/scandium/titanium project that owns one 226.43-acre parcel of land and associated mineral rights, and an additional 40 acres of mineral rights, as well as an optioned land package that covers an area of 1,396 acres located in Johnson County, southeast Nebraska. The company was formerly known as Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. and changed its name to NioCorp Developments Ltd. in March 2013. NioCorp Developments Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.

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.