Critical Contrast: Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) versus Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRM)

Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) and Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Lithium Americas and Silver Standard Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithium Americas	N/A	-10.70%	-4.41%
Silver Standard Resources	12.17%	14.87%	10.63%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Lithium Americas and Silver Standard Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithium Americas	1	8	2	0	2.09
Silver Standard Resources	0	2	8	1	2.91

Lithium Americas presently has a consensus target price of $5.56, indicating a potential upside of 27.14%. Silver Standard Resources has a consensus target price of $38.20, indicating a potential upside of 23.42%. Given Lithium Americas’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Lithium Americas is more favorable than Silver Standard Resources.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lithium Americas and Silver Standard Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithium Americas	N/A	N/A	-$122.09 million	($0.41)	-10.67
Silver Standard Resources	$1.63 billion	3.94	$395.75 million	$1.05	29.48

Silver Standard Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Lithium Americas. Lithium Americas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Silver Standard Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.3% of Silver Standard Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Lithium Americas shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Silver Standard Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Lithium Americas has a beta of 2.31, suggesting that its stock price is 131% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Silver Standard Resources has a beta of -0.14, suggesting that its stock price is 114% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Silver Standard Resources beats Lithium Americas on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas Corp. engages in the exploration and development of lithium properties in the United States and Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Thacker Pass project located in northern Nevada, as well as investments in exploration properties in the United States and Canada. Lithium Americas Corp. was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Vancouver, 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.