Financial Analysis: MP Materials (NYSE:MP) vs. Surge Battery Metals (OTCMKTS:NILIF)

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and Surge Battery Metals (OTCMKTS:NILIF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MP Materials and Surge Battery Metals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MP Materials	$224.44 million	51.40	-$85.87 million	($0.52)	-124.87
Surge Battery Metals	N/A	N/A	-$7.19 million	($0.04)	-12.31

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

52.6% of MP Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 12.6% of MP Materials shares are held by company 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 MP Materials and Surge Battery Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MP Materials	-38.26%	-4.28%	-2.07%
Surge Battery Metals	N/A	-59.46%	-57.62%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for MP Materials and Surge Battery Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MP Materials	1	0	14	2	3.00
Surge Battery Metals	0	0	0	0	0.00

MP Materials presently has a consensus target price of $79.08, suggesting a potential upside of 21.79%. Given MP Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe MP Materials is more favorable than Surge Battery Metals.

Risk & Volatility

MP Materials has a beta of 1.67, meaning that its share price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Surge Battery Metals has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Summary

MP Materials beats Surge Battery Metals on 10 of the 14 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 Surge Battery Metals

Surge Battery Metals Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in North America. It primarily explores for lithium and nickel. The company's flagship property is the 100% owned Nevada North lithium project consisting of 243 mineral claims located in Elko County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Copper Creek Gold Corp. and changed its name to Surge Exploration Inc. in April 2018. Surge Battery Metals Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.