Critical Analysis: Quaterra Resources (OTCMKTS:QTRRF) and American Lithium (NASDAQ:AMLI)

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

Risk and Volatility

Quaterra Resources has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Lithium has a beta of 1.47, suggesting that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

7.7% of American Lithium shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Quaterra Resources 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
Quaterra Resources	N/A	N/A	-$980,000.00	N/A	N/A
American Lithium	N/A	N/A	-$29.55 million	($0.10)	-7.53

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Quaterra Resources and American Lithium, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quaterra Resources	0	0	0	0	N/A
American Lithium	0	0	1	1	3.50

American Lithium has a consensus price target of $3.25, indicating a potential upside of 331.61%. Given American Lithium’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Lithium is more favorable than Quaterra Resources.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quaterra Resources	N/A	-6.27%	-6.15%
American Lithium	N/A	-17.25%	-16.87%

Summary

American Lithium beats Quaterra Resources on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Quaterra Resources

Quaterra Resources, Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. It holds interest in the Groundhog and Quaterra’s Yerington Copper projects. The company was founded on May 11, 1993 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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.