Analyzing Gulf Resources (NASDAQ:GURE) & ASP Isotopes (NASDAQ:ASPI)

Gulf Resources (NASDAQ:GURE) and ASP Isotopes (NASDAQ:ASPI) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Gulf Resources and ASP Isotopes’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gulf Resources	-195.79%	-18.32%	-15.71%
ASP Isotopes	-2,181.62%	-239.22%	-98.70%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Gulf Resources and ASP Isotopes”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gulf Resources	$7.66 million	1.22	-$58.94 million	($2.50)	-0.28
ASP Isotopes	$4.14 million	199.14	-$32.33 million	($0.61)	-14.70

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

3.3% of Gulf Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.8% of ASP Isotopes shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Gulf Resources shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.4% of ASP Isotopes shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Gulf Resources and ASP Isotopes, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gulf Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00
ASP Isotopes	0	0	2	0	3.00

ASP Isotopes has a consensus target price of $7.75, indicating a potential downside of 13.60%. Given ASP Isotopes’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ASP Isotopes is more favorable than Gulf Resources.

Risk and Volatility

Gulf Resources has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ASP Isotopes has a beta of 3.35, meaning that its share price is 235% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ASP Isotopes beats Gulf Resources on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gulf Resources

Gulf Resources, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and trades bromine and crude salt, chemical products, and natural gas in the People’s Republic of China. The company operates through four segments: Bromine, Crude salt, Chemical products, and Natural gas segments. It also provides bromine for use in bromine compounds, intermediates in organic synthesis, brominated flame retardants, fumigants, water purification compounds, dyes, medicines, and disinfectants. In addition, the company offers crude salt for use as a material in alkali and chlorine alkali production for use in the chemical, food and beverage, and other industries. In addition, it manufactures and sells chemical products for use in oil and gas field exploration, oil and gas distribution, oil field drilling, papermaking chemical agents, and inorganic chemicals, as well as materials that are used for human and animal antibiotics. The company is based in Shouguang, the People’s Republic of China.

About ASP Isotopes

ASP Isotopes Inc., a development stage advanced materials company, focuses on the production, distribution, marketing, and sale of isotopes. It engages in the production and commercialization of Molybdenum-100, a non-radioactive isotope for the medical industry; Carbon-14; and Silicon-28. The company is also developing Quantum Enrichment technology to produce Ytterbium-176, Nickel-64, Lithium 6, Lithium7, and Uranium-235. ASP Isotopes Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in Washington, District Of Columbia.