Lithium Americas (Argentina) (LAAC) Competitors

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAAC) and Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation and risk.

Which has more volatility and risk, LAAC or ERO?

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ero Copper has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor LAAC or ERO?

In the previous week, Ero Copper had 16 more articles in the media than Lithium Americas (Argentina). MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for Ero Copper and 1 mentions for Lithium Americas (Argentina). Ero Copper's average media sentiment score of 0.63 beat Lithium Americas (Argentina)'s score of 0.00 indicating that Ero Copper is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Ero Copper	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is LAAC or ERO more profitable?

Ero Copper has a net margin of 3.87% compared to Lithium Americas (Argentina)'s net margin of 0.00%. Ero Copper's return on equity of 14.24% beat Lithium Americas (Argentina)'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	-1.37%	-1.08%
Ero Copper	3.87%	14.24%	6.44%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in LAAC or ERO?

49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Ero Copper shares are held by institutional investors. 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, LAAC or ERO?

Lithium Americas (Argentina) has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ero Copper. Lithium Americas (Argentina) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ero Copper, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	$1.29B	$7.79	0.33
Ero Copper	$489.55M	3.02	-$68.47M	$0.17	83.97

Do analysts recommend LAAC or ERO?

Lithium Americas (Argentina) presently has a consensus target price of $4.25, indicating a potential upside of 66.02%. Ero Copper has a consensus target price of $23.50, indicating a potential upside of 64.62%. Given Lithium Americas (Argentina)'s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Lithium Americas (Argentina) is more favorable than Ero Copper.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.33
Ero Copper	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.92

Summary

Ero Copper beats Lithium Americas (Argentina) on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.