Contrasting Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRM) and MP Materials (NYSE:MP)

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for MP Materials and Silver Standard Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MP Materials	0	4	5	0	2.56
Silver Standard Resources	0	5	1	1	2.43

MP Materials currently has a consensus price target of $60.63, indicating a potential downside of 14.84%. Silver Standard Resources has a consensus price target of $12.55, indicating a potential downside of 35.01%. Given MP Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe MP Materials is more favorable than Silver Standard Resources.

Profitability

This table compares MP Materials and Silver Standard Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MP Materials	-41.87%	-9.34%	-4.17%
Silver Standard Resources	12.66%	4.99%	3.66%

Risk & Volatility

MP Materials has a beta of 2.3, meaning that its share price is 130% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Silver Standard Resources has a beta of -0.16, meaning that its share price is 116% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.6% of MP Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.3% of Silver Standard Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of MP Materials shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Silver Standard Resources 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares MP Materials and Silver Standard Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MP Materials	$203.85 million	61.85	-$65.42 million	($0.63)	-113.00
Silver Standard Resources	$995.62 million	3.93	-$261.28 million	$0.78	24.76

MP Materials has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Silver Standard Resources. MP Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Silver Standard Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Silver Standard Resources beats MP Materials on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Silver Standard Resources

SSR Mining Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation, acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal resource properties in the United States, Türkiye, Canada, and Argentina. The company explores for gold doré, copper, silver, lead, and zinc deposits. Its mines include the Çöpler, located in Erzincan province, Turkey; the Marigold, located in Nevada, the United States; the Seabee, located in Saskatchewan, Canada; and the Puna, located in Jujuy province, Argentina. The company was formerly known as Silver Standard Resources Inc. and changed its name to SSR Mining Inc. in August 2017. SSR Mining Inc. was incorporated in 1946 and is based in Denver, Colorado.