Critical Review: 374Water (NASDAQ:SCWO) versus PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT)

PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) and 374Water (NASDAQ:SCWO) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares PureCycle Technologies and 374Water’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PureCycle Technologies	N/A	-143.06%	-23.17%
374Water	-911.15%	-160.15%	-118.22%

Volatility & Risk

PureCycle Technologies has a beta of 2.03, indicating that its stock price is 103% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 374Water has a beta of -0.07, indicating that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

63.0% of PureCycle Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.2% of 374Water shares are held by institutional investors. 21.7% of PureCycle Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.3% of 374Water shares are held 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares PureCycle Technologies and 374Water”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PureCycle Technologies	N/A	N/A	-$289.14 million	($1.46)	-6.13
374Water	$440,000.00	95.37	-$12.43 million	($1.20)	-2.07

374Water has higher revenue and earnings than PureCycle Technologies. PureCycle Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than 374Water, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for PureCycle Technologies and 374Water, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PureCycle Technologies	1	1	3	2	2.86
374Water	1	0	0	0	1.00

PureCycle Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $13.67, indicating a potential upside of 52.70%. Given PureCycle Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe PureCycle Technologies is more favorable than 374Water.

Summary

PureCycle Technologies beats 374Water on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PureCycle Technologies

PureCycle Technologies, Inc. engages in the production of recycled polypropylene (PP). The company holds a license for restoring waste PP into ultra-pure recycled polypropylene resin that has multiple applications, including packaging and labeling for consumer products, piping, ropes, cabling, and plastic parts for various industries. Its recycling process separates color, odor, and other contaminants from plastic waste feedstock to transform it into virgin-like resin. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About 374Water

374Water Inc. provides a technology that transforms wet wastes into recoverable resources in the United States. The company transforms wet wastes, including sewage sludge, biosolids, food waste, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, and forever chemicals. It offers AirSCWO systems, a waste stream treatment system based on supercritical water oxidation that are used to treat various hazardous and non-hazardous waste streams. It serves Industrial, agricultural, defense, oil and gas, waste management, sanitation project, environmental remediation and compliance, and municipal markets. 374Water Inc. is based in Durham, North Carolina.