MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and American Lithium (OTCMKTS:LIACF) Head-To-Head Comparison

American Lithium (OTCMKTS:LIACF) and MP Materials (NYSE:MP) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for American Lithium and MP Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Lithium	0	0	0	0	N/A
MP Materials	0	4	6	0	2.60

MP Materials has a consensus target price of $21.15, indicating a potential upside of 16.85%. Given MP Materials’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe MP Materials is more favorable than American Lithium.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of American Lithium shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.5% of MP Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 12.6% of MP Materials shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares American Lithium and MP Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Lithium	N/A	-16.28%	-15.96%
MP Materials	-21.94%	-4.28%	-2.28%

Volatility and Risk

American Lithium has a beta of 1.48, suggesting that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MP Materials has a beta of 2.23, suggesting that its share price is 123% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares American Lithium and MP Materials”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Lithium	N/A	N/A	-$18.80 million	($0.11)	-7.47
MP Materials	$173.66 million	17.23	$24.31 million	($0.15)	-120.67

MP Materials has higher revenue and earnings than American Lithium. MP Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Lithium, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

MP Materials beats American Lithium on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.