Critical Contrast: NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) and U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU)

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

Volatility and Risk

NioCorp Developments has a beta of -0.52, suggesting that its stock price is 152% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Gold has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares NioCorp Developments and U.S. Gold’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-194.39%
U.S. Gold	N/A	-40.73%	-31.42%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for NioCorp Developments and U.S. Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NioCorp Developments	0	0	1	0	3.00
U.S. Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00

NioCorp Developments presently has a consensus target price of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 387.80%. U.S. Gold has a consensus target price of $14.50, suggesting a potential upside of 258.02%. Given NioCorp Developments’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe NioCorp Developments is more favorable than U.S. Gold.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of U.S. Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.7% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of U.S. Gold shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NioCorp Developments and U.S. Gold’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	-$40.08 million	($1.26)	-1.95
U.S. Gold	N/A	N/A	-$7.61 million	($0.73)	-5.55

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

Summary

U.S. Gold beats NioCorp Developments on 5 of the 9 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 U.S. Gold

U.S. Gold Corp. engages in the exploration and development of gold and precious metals in the United States. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company holds 100% interests in the CK Gold project, which consists of various mining leases and other mineral rights covering approximately 1,120 acres in Laramie County, Wyoming; the Keystone project that consists of 601 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 20 square miles in Eureka County, Nevada; and the Challis Gold project, which consists of 77 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 1,710 acres in Lemhi County, Idaho. It also has earn-in agreement to acquire a 50% ownership interest in the Maggie Creek project located in Eureka County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Dataram Corporation and changed its name to U.S. Gold Corp. in June 2017. U.S. Gold Corp. is based in Elko, Nevada.