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

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

Profitability

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

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Wealth Minerals shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.1% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for NioCorp Developments and Wealth Minerals, as provided by MarketBeat.

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

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

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$11.44 million	($0.77)	-2.90
Wealth Minerals	N/A	N/A	-$7.73 million	($0.04)	-1.63

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.

Summary

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

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.

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.