Head-To-Head Contrast: Avient (NYSE:AVNT) & ASP Isotopes (NASDAQ:ASPI)

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) and ASP Isotopes (NASDAQ:ASPI) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.5% of Avient shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.8% of ASP Isotopes shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.4% of ASP Isotopes shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Avient and ASP Isotopes, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avient	0	3	3	1	2.71
ASP Isotopes	0	0	2	0	3.00

Avient currently has a consensus target price of $45.60, suggesting a potential upside of 34.72%. ASP Isotopes has a consensus target price of $7.75, suggesting a potential downside of 30.87%. Given Avient’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Avient is more favorable than ASP Isotopes.

Profitability

This table compares Avient and ASP Isotopes’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avient	3.65%	10.57%	4.17%
ASP Isotopes	-767.86%	-88.40%	-41.80%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Avient and ASP Isotopes”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avient	$3.24 billion	0.96	$169.50 million	$1.28	26.44
ASP Isotopes	$4.14 million	227.18	-$32.33 million	($0.61)	-18.38

Avient has higher revenue and earnings than ASP Isotopes. ASP Isotopes is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Avient, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Avient has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ASP Isotopes has a beta of 3.36, meaning that its share price is 236% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Avient beats ASP Isotopes on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avient

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks. Its products are used in medical and pharmaceutical devices, food packaging, personal care and cosmetics, transportation, building products, wire and cable, recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture, healthcare, textiles and appliances, and industrial markets. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment provides specialty polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. It sells its products through direct sales personnel, distributors, and commissioned sales agents. The company was formerly known as PolyOne Corporation and changed its name to Avient Corporation in June 2020. Avient Corporation was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio.

About ASP Isotopes

ASP Isotopes Inc., a development stage advanced materials company, focuses on the production, distribution, marketing, and sale of isotopes. It engages in the production and commercialization of Molybdenum-100, a non-radioactive isotope for the medical industry; Carbon-14; and Silicon-28. The company is also developing Quantum Enrichment technology to produce Ytterbium-176, Nickel-64, Lithium 6, Lithium7, and Uranium-235. ASP Isotopes Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in Washington, District Of Columbia.