Critical Contrast: ASP Isotopes (NASDAQ:ASPI) vs. Koppers (NYSE:KOP)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for ASP Isotopes and Koppers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ASP Isotopes	1	0	2	0	2.33
Koppers	0	2	2	1	2.80

ASP Isotopes presently has a consensus target price of $13.00, suggesting a potential upside of 86.11%. Koppers has a consensus target price of $52.50, suggesting a potential upside of 18.82%. Given ASP Isotopes’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe ASP Isotopes is more favorable than Koppers.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ASP Isotopes and Koppers”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ASP Isotopes	$26.93 million	32.66	-$175.09 million	($2.08)	-3.36
Koppers	$1.88 billion	0.45	$56.00 million	$3.80	11.63

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

Risk & Volatility

ASP Isotopes has a beta of 3.42, suggesting that its stock price is 242% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Koppers has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.8% of ASP Isotopes shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.8% of Koppers shares are held by institutional investors. 14.4% of ASP Isotopes shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Koppers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ASP Isotopes	-644.40%	-112.46%	-53.36%
Koppers	4.10%	14.53%	4.20%

Summary

Koppers beats ASP Isotopes on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Koppers

Koppers Holdings Inc. provides treated wood products, wood preservation chemicals, and carbon compounds in the United States, Australasia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Railroad and Utility Products and Services (RUPS), Performance Chemicals (PC), and Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC) segments. The RUPS segment procures and treats crossties, switch ties, and various types of lumber used for railroad bridges and crossings. It also provides rail joint bars to join rails together for railroads; transmission and distribution poles for electric and telephone utilities; and pilings. This segment provides railroad services, such as engineering, design, repair, and inspection services for railroad bridges. The PC segment develops, manufactures, and markets copper-based wood preservatives, including micronized copper azole, micronized pigments, alkaline copper quaternary, amine copper azole, and chromated copper arsenate for decking, fencing, utility poles, construction lumber and timbers, and various agricultural uses; and supplies fire-retardant chemicals for pressure treatment of wood primarily in commercial construction. The CMC segment manufactures creosote for the treatment of wood or as a feedstock in the production of carbon black; carbon pitch, a raw material used in the production of aluminum and steel; naphthalene for use as a feedstock in the production of phthalic anhydride and as a surfactant in the production of concrete; phthalic anhydride for the production of plasticizers, polyester resins, and alkyd paints; and carbon black feedstock for use in the production of carbon black. It serves the railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction sectors. Koppers Holdings Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.