Materion (NYSE:MTRN) versus Lynas (OTCMKTS:LYSDY) Critical Survey

Lynas (OTCMKTS:LYSDY) and Materion (NYSE:MTRN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Lynas and Materion, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lynas	0	2	0	0	2.00
Materion	0	0	1	0	3.00

Materion has a consensus target price of $117.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.55%. Given Materion’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Materion is more favorable than Lynas.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Materion shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Materion shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Lynas has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Materion has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lynas and Materion”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lynas	$356.61 million	31.50	$5.17 million	N/A	N/A
Materion	$1.68 billion	1.46	$5.89 million	$0.80	148.55

Materion has higher revenue and earnings than Lynas.

Profitability

This table compares Lynas and Materion’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lynas	N/A	N/A	N/A
Materion	0.94%	12.69%	6.48%

Summary

Materion beats Lynas on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lynas

Lynas Rare Earths Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, mining, extraction, and processing of rare earth minerals in Australia and Malaysia. The company holds interests in the Mount Weld and Kalgoorlie projects in Western Australia. Its products include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, and dysprosium. The company also develops and operates advanced material processing and concentration plants, as well as offers corporate services. The company was formerly known as Lynas Corporation Limited and changed its name to Lynas Corporation Limited in November 2020. Lynas Rare Earths Limited was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Perth, Australia.

About Materion

Materion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces advanced engineered materials used in semiconductor, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and telecom and data center in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Performance Materials, Electronic Materials, Precision Optics, and Other. The company provides advanced engineered solutions comprising beryllium and non-beryllium containing alloy systems and custom engineered parts in strip, bulk, rod, plate, bar, tube, and other customized shapes; engineering and product development services; alloyed metals, beryllium products, and beryllium hydroxide; precision strip, rod, and wire products, as well as engineered strip metal products; and ToughMet alloys and SupremEX aluminum silicon carbide metal matrix composite formulation products. It operates the bertrandite ore mine and refinery located in Utah that provides feedstock hydroxide for its beryllium businesses and external sale. In addition, it produces advanced chemicals, microelectronics packaging, precious metal, non-precious metal, and specialty metal products, including vapor deposition targets, frame lid assemblies, clad and precious metal pre-forms, high temperature braze materials, and ultra-pure wire. Further, the company designs and produces precision thin film coatings, optical filters, and assemblies. The company sells its products directly from its facilities, as well as through company-owned service centers, outside distributors, agents, direct sales offices, and independent sales representatives. The company was formerly known as Brush Engineered Materials Inc. and changed its name to Materion Corporation in March 2011. Materion Corporation was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.