Contrasting KiOR (OTCMKTS:KIORQ) and Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO)

KiOR (OTCMKTS:KIORQ) and Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO) are both manufacturing companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares KiOR and Gevo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KiOR	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gevo	-510.04%	-14.95%	-12.69%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares KiOR and Gevo”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KiOR	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gevo	$17.20 million	21.57	-$66.21 million	($0.34)	-4.56

KiOR has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Gevo.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

35.2% of Gevo shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of Gevo shares are held by company insiders. 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for KiOR and Gevo, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KiOR	0	0	0	0	0.00
Gevo	0	1	1	0	2.50

Gevo has a consensus target price of $8.63, suggesting a potential upside of 456.45%. Given Gevo’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Gevo is more favorable than KiOR.

Summary

Gevo beats KiOR on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KiOR

KiOR, Inc., incorporated on July 23, 2007, is a development-stage and is a next generation renewable fuels company. The Company is engaged in developing a commercial process to produce cellulosic gasoline and diesel from abundant, lignocellulosic biomass. The Company has developed a two-step technology platform that converts non-food lignocellulose into cellulosic gasoline and diesel that can be transported using the existing fuels distribution system for use in vehicles. The other renewable fuels are derived from soft starches, such as corn starch or cane sugar, for ethanol, or from soy and other vegetable oils for biodiesel, cellulosic fuel is derived from lignocellulose found in wood, grasses and the non-edible portions of plants. The Company has not generated any revenue.

About Gevo

Gevo, Inc. operates as a carbon abatement company. It operates through three segments: Gevo, Agri-Energy, and Renewable Natural Gas. The company focuses on transforming renewable energy into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as renewable fuels. It offers renewable gasoline and diesel, isobutanol, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable natural gas, isobutylene, ethanol, and animal feed and protein. The company was formerly known as Methanotech, Inc. and changed its name to Gevo, Inc. in March 2006. Gevo, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.