Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) and U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) Head-To-Head Contrast

U.S. Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) and Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

6.6% of U.S. Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by institutional investors. 9.8% of U.S. Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares U.S. Gold and Lithium Americas (Argentina)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Gold	N/A	-42.74%	-32.16%
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	-0.25%	-0.20%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares U.S. Gold and Lithium Americas (Argentina)”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.90 million	($0.73)	-7.66
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29 billion	$7.99	0.41

U.S. Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lithium Americas (Argentina), indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

U.S. Gold has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for U.S. Gold and Lithium Americas (Argentina), as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0	4	4	1	2.67

U.S. Gold currently has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 96.78%. Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a consensus price target of $8.21, suggesting a potential upside of 153.34%. Given Lithium Americas (Argentina)’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lithium Americas (Argentina) is more favorable than U.S. Gold.

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats U.S. Gold on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U.S. Gold

U.S. Gold Corp. engages in the exploration and development of gold and precious metals in the United States. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company holds 100% interests in the CK Gold project, which consists of various mining leases and other mineral rights covering approximately 1,120 acres in Laramie County, Wyoming; the Keystone project that consists of 601 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 20 square miles in Eureka County, Nevada; and the Challis Gold project, which consists of 77 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 1,710 acres in Lemhi County, Idaho. It also has earn-in agreement to acquire a 50% ownership interest in the Maggie Creek project located in Eureka County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Dataram Corporation and changed its name to U.S. Gold Corp. in June 2017. U.S. Gold Corp. is based in Elko, Nevada.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. operates as a resource company. The company explores for lithium deposits. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province of Argentina. It also has a pipeline of development and exploration stage projects, including the Pastos Grandes project and the Sal de la Puna project located in Salta Province in northwestern Argentina. Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.