Aris Mining (NYSE:ARMN) and Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) Critical Analysis

Vista Gold (NYSE:VGZ) and Aris Mining (NYSE:ARMN) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Vista Gold and Aris Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vista Gold	0	0	1	0	3.00
Aris Mining	0	0	0	0	N/A

Vista Gold currently has a consensus target price of $2.75, suggesting a potential upside of 325.70%. Given Vista Gold’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Vista Gold is more favorable than Aris Mining.

Volatility and Risk

Vista Gold has a beta of 1.73, suggesting that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aris Mining has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vista Gold and Aris Mining”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vista Gold	N/A	N/A	-$6.59 million	$0.09	7.18
Aris Mining	$447.67 million	1.72	$11.42 million	$0.08	56.50

Aris Mining has higher revenue and earnings than Vista Gold. Vista Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aris Mining, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

27.3% of Vista Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.8% of Aris Mining shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Vista Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Vista Gold and Aris Mining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vista Gold	N/A	93.43%	68.97%
Aris Mining	2.46%	6.00%	3.06%

Summary

Vista Gold beats Aris Mining on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vista Gold

Vista Gold Corp., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, explores, evaluates, and advances gold exploration and development projects in Australia. Its flagship asset is the 100% owned Mt Todd gold project located in Northern Territory, Australia. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

About Aris Mining

Aris Mining Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold properties in Canada, Colombia, and Guyana. It also explores for silver and copper deposits. The company was formerly known as GCM Mining Corp. and changed its name to Aris Mining Corporation in September 2022. Aris Mining Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada.