Avalon Rare Metals (OTCMKTS:AVLNF) and Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRM) Critical Review

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Avalon Rare Metals and Silver Standard Resources”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avalon Rare Metals	$40,000.00	1,241.87	-$3.72 million	N/A	N/A
Silver Standard Resources	$995.62 million	5.35	-$261.28 million	$1.04	25.25

Avalon Rare Metals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Silver Standard Resources.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.3% of Silver Standard Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Avalon Rare Metals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Silver Standard Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Avalon Rare Metals and Silver Standard Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avalon Rare Metals	-5,445.83%	-4.41%	-4.05%
Silver Standard Resources	15.36%	6.46%	4.64%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Avalon Rare Metals and Silver Standard Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avalon Rare Metals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Silver Standard Resources	1	6	3	2	2.50

Silver Standard Resources has a consensus target price of $20.60, suggesting a potential downside of 21.55%. Given Silver Standard Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Silver Standard Resources is more favorable than Avalon Rare Metals.

Volatility and Risk

Avalon Rare Metals has a beta of -0.05, meaning that its stock price is 105% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Silver Standard Resources has a beta of -0.11, meaning that its stock price is 111% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Silver Standard Resources beats Avalon Rare Metals on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avalon Rare Metals

Avalon Advanced Materials Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of rare metal and mineral properties primarily in Canada. The company focuses on exploring lithium, tantalum, cesium, indium, gallium, germanium, tin, yttrium, and zirconium deposits, as well as rare earth elements. Its flagship project is the 100% owned Separation Rapids Lithium Project consisting of nineteen mineral claims and one mining lease covering an area of approximately 4,414 hectares located in the Paterson Lake Area, Kenora Mining Division, Ontario. The company was formerly known as Avalon Rare Metals Inc. and changed its name to Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. in February 2016. Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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.