Reviewing Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) and i-80 Gold (NYSE:IAUX)

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

Volatility and Risk

Vista Gold has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, i-80 Gold has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

27.3% of Vista Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of i-80 Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Vista Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of i-80 Gold shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Vista Gold and i-80 Gold, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vista Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00
i-80 Gold	0	2	3	1	2.83

Vista Gold currently has a consensus price target of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 160.87%. i-80 Gold has a consensus price target of $1.50, suggesting a potential upside of 95.26%. Given Vista Gold’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vista Gold is more favorable than i-80 Gold.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vista Gold	N/A	93.43%	68.97%
i-80 Gold	-231.43%	-21.18%	-12.67%

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vista Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.59 million	($0.07)	-16.43
i-80 Gold	$76.62 million	7.90	-$65.20 million	($0.29)	-2.65

Vista Gold has higher earnings, but lower revenue than i-80 Gold. Vista Gold 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.

Summary

Vista Gold beats i-80 Gold on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vista Gold

Vista Gold Corp., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, explores, evaluates, and advances gold exploration and development projects in Australia. Its flagship asset is the 100% owned Mt Todd gold project located in Northern Territory, Australia. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

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.