NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) and Silver Bull Resources (OTCMKTS:SVBL) Financial Contrast

Silver Bull Resources (OTCMKTS:SVBL) and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Silver Bull Resources and NioCorp Developments, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Silver Bull Resources	0	0	0	0	N/A
NioCorp Developments	0	0	1	0	3.00

NioCorp Developments has a consensus target price of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 367.03%. Given NioCorp Developments’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NioCorp Developments is more favorable than Silver Bull Resources.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.2% of Silver Bull Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by institutional investors. 16.5% of Silver Bull Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of NioCorp Developments shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Silver Bull Resources and NioCorp Developments’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Silver Bull Resources	N/A	-12.04%	-10.60%
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-103.75%

Risk & Volatility

Silver Bull Resources has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NioCorp Developments has a beta of -0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 136% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Silver Bull Resources and NioCorp Developments’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Silver Bull Resources	N/A	N/A	-$1.25 million	($0.01)	-9.50
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$40.08 million	($0.37)	-4.92

Silver Bull Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NioCorp Developments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

NioCorp Developments beats Silver Bull Resources on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Silver Bull Resources

Silver Bull Resources, Inc., an exploration stage company, acquires, explores, and develops mineral properties in Mexico, Kazakhstan, and Canada. The company primarily explores for silver, lead, copper, and zinc deposits, as well as gold. Its principal project is the Sierra Mojada property comprising 20 concessions covering an area of 6,496 hectares located in Coahuila, Mexico. The company was formerly known as Metalline Mining Company and changed its name to Silver Bull Resources, Inc. in April 2011. Silver Bull Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

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.