MP Materials (NYSE:MP) versus Capstone Copper (OTCMKTS:CSFFF) Financial Analysis

Capstone Copper (OTCMKTS:CSFFF) and MP Materials (NYSE:MP) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Capstone Copper and MP Materials”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Capstone Copper	$1.60 billion	0.00	$82.91 million	$0.11	N/A
MP Materials	$203.85 million	47.47	-$65.42 million	($0.71)	-76.91

Capstone Copper has higher revenue and earnings than MP Materials. MP Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Capstone Copper, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Capstone Copper and MP Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Capstone Copper	14.67%	3.23%	1.72%
MP Materials	-50.55%	-7.69%	-3.59%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Capstone Copper and MP Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Capstone Copper	0	0	0	0	0.00
MP Materials	1	0	13	1	2.93

MP Materials has a consensus target price of $78.91, suggesting a potential upside of 44.51%. Given MP Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe MP Materials is more favorable than Capstone Copper.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.6% of Capstone Copper shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of MP Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 9.5% of MP Materials shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Capstone Copper

Capstone Mining Corp. engages in the exploration and production of base metals in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Chile. The company explores for copper, molybdenum, silver, zinc, lead, iron, and gold deposits. It holds interests in the Pinto Valley, an open pit copper mine located in Arizona, the United States; and the Cozamin, a copper-silver underground mine located in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico. The company also owns a 100% interest in copper-iron-gold Santo Domingo development project in Region III, Chile. The company was formerly known as Capstone Gold Corp. and changed its name to Capstone Mining Corp. in February 2006. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp., together with its subsidiaries, produces rare earth materials. The company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth mine and processing facility in North America. It holds the mineral rights to the Mountain Pass mine and surrounding areas, as well as intellectual property rights related to the processing and development of rare earth minerals. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.