Head to Head Review: i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) vs. First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG)

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) and i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares First Majestic Silver and i-80 Gold”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Majestic Silver	$527.97 million	3.11	-$135.11 million	($0.27)	-20.19
i-80 Gold	$54.91 million	2.65	-$65.20 million	($0.36)	-1.34

i-80 Gold has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Majestic Silver. First Majestic Silver is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than i-80 Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

27.2% of First Majestic Silver shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of i-80 Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of First Majestic Silver shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

First Majestic Silver has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, i-80 Gold has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares First Majestic Silver and i-80 Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Majestic Silver	-14.89%	-4.19%	-2.89%
i-80 Gold	-231.43%	-21.18%	-12.67%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for First Majestic Silver and i-80 Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Majestic Silver	0	1	1	0	2.50
i-80 Gold	0	4	0	0	2.00

First Majestic Silver presently has a consensus price target of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 37.61%. i-80 Gold has a consensus price target of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 623.44%. Given i-80 Gold’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe i-80 Gold is more favorable than First Majestic Silver.

Summary

First Majestic Silver beats i-80 Gold on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Majestic Silver

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, México; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, México. The company was formerly known as First Majestic Resource Corp. and changed its name to First Majestic Silver Corp. in November 2006. First Majestic Silver Corp. was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About i-80 Gold

i-80 Gold Corp. is a mining company, engages in the exploration, development and production of gold and silver mineral deposits principally in the United States. i-80 Gold Corp. is based in Reno, Nevada.