Critical Survey: NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) vs. Wealth Minerals (OTCMKTS:WMLLF)

Wealth Minerals (OTCMKTS:WMLLF) and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Wealth Minerals and NioCorp Developments’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wealth Minerals	N/A	-28.18%	-27.86%
NioCorp Developments	N/A	-1,273.17%	-140.97%

Risk and Volatility

Wealth Minerals has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NioCorp Developments has a beta of -0.36, indicating that its share price is 136% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Wealth Minerals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by institutional investors. 19.1% of NioCorp Developments 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Wealth Minerals and NioCorp Developments”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wealth Minerals	N/A	N/A	-$7.73 million	($0.04)	-1.65
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$11.44 million	($0.77)	-2.90

NioCorp Developments is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wealth Minerals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Wealth Minerals and NioCorp Developments, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wealth Minerals	0	0	0	0	0.00
NioCorp Developments	0	0	2	0	3.00

NioCorp Developments has a consensus price target of $3.63, indicating a potential upside of 62.56%. Given NioCorp Developments’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NioCorp Developments is more favorable than Wealth Minerals.

Summary

Wealth Minerals beats NioCorp Developments on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wealth Minerals

Wealth Minerals Ltd., a junior mineral resource exploration company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Canada, Chile, Peru, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for lithium, as well as for precious metal and copper deposits. Its flagship property is the 100% owned Atacama project that comprises 144 exploration concessions covering an area of approximately 46,200 hectares located in the Atacama Salar in Region II of Antofagasta, northern Chile. Wealth Minerals Ltd. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About NioCorp Developments

NioCorp Developments Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral deposits in North America. It owns and develops the Elk Creek niobium/scandium/titanium project that owns one 226.43-acre parcel of land and associated mineral rights, and an additional 40 acres of mineral rights, as well as an optioned land package that covers an area of 1,396 acres located in Johnson County, southeast Nebraska. The company was formerly known as Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. and changed its name to NioCorp Developments Ltd. in March 2013. NioCorp Developments Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.