Head-To-Head Comparison: Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) & Impala Platinum (OTCMKTS:IMPUY)

Impala Platinum (OTCMKTS:IMPUY) and Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned 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.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Impala Platinum	$6.01 billion	0.75	$276.64 million	N/A	N/A
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29 billion	$7.99	0.40

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Impala Platinum.

Volatility & Risk

Impala Platinum has a beta of 1.65, indicating that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Impala Platinum	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	3.09%	2.51%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Impala Platinum and Lithium Americas (Argentina), as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Impala Platinum	1	0	0	0	1.00
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0	4	3	0	2.43

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a consensus target price of $8.83, indicating a potential upside of 173.06%. Given Lithium Americas (Argentina)’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lithium Americas (Argentina) is more favorable than Impala Platinum.

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats Impala Platinum on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Impala Platinum

Impala Platinum Holdings Limited engages in the mining, processing, concentrating, refining, and sale of platinum group metals (PGMs) and associated base metals. The company produces platinum, palladium, rhodium, nickel, and by-products, as well as ruthenium, iridium, and gold. It has operations on the PGM-bearing orebodies, including the Bushveld Complex located in South Africa; and the Great Dyke situated in Zimbabwe, as well as the Canadian Shield. The company markets and sells its products in South Africa, Japan, China, the United States, and Europe. Impala Platinum Holdings Limited was incorporated in 1957 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.

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.