Contrasting MP Materials (NYSE:MP) & Paladin Energy (OTCMKTS:PALAF)

MP Materials (NYSE:MP) and Paladin Energy (OTCMKTS:PALAF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.6% of MP Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Paladin Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.5% of MP Materials shares are owned 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for MP Materials and Paladin Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MP Materials	1	0	13	1	2.93
Paladin Energy	0	3	0	0	2.00

MP Materials presently has a consensus price target of $78.91, indicating a potential upside of 30.02%. Paladin Energy has a consensus price target of $9.05, indicating a potential upside of 1.58%. Given MP Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MP Materials is more favorable than Paladin Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MP Materials and Paladin Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MP Materials	$203.85 million	52.76	-$65.42 million	($0.71)	-85.48
Paladin Energy	$177.68 million	22.53	-$44.64 million	($0.12)	-74.24

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

Profitability

This table compares MP Materials and Paladin Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MP Materials	-50.55%	-7.69%	-3.59%
Paladin Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

MP Materials has a beta of 1.6, meaning that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paladin Energy has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

MP Materials beats Paladin Energy on 9 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 Paladin Energy

Paladin Energy Ltd develops, explores for, owns, and operates uranium mines in Australia, Canada, and Africa. The company operates through Exploration, Namibia, and Australia segments. Its flagship project is the Langer Heinrich mine located in the Namib Desert in Namibia. The company was formerly known as Paladin Resources Ltd and changed its name to Paladin Energy Limited in November 2007. Paladin Energy Ltd was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.