Head to Head Analysis: Vizsla Silver (NYSE:VZLA) & Fortuna Silver Mines (NYSE:FSM)

Fortuna Silver Mines (NYSE:FSM) and Vizsla Silver (NYSE:VZLA) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

33.8% of Fortuna Silver Mines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.5% of Vizsla Silver shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Fortuna Silver Mines shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.9% of Vizsla Silver shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fortuna Silver Mines and Vizsla Silver’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fortuna Silver Mines	$842.43 million	1.60	-$50.84 million	($0.11)	-40.00
Vizsla Silver	N/A	N/A	-$11.81 million	($0.05)	-38.00

Vizsla Silver has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Fortuna Silver Mines. Fortuna Silver Mines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vizsla Silver, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Fortuna Silver Mines and Vizsla Silver’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fortuna Silver Mines	-3.94%	6.04%	4.02%
Vizsla Silver	N/A	-6.60%	-6.49%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Fortuna Silver Mines and Vizsla Silver, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fortuna Silver Mines	0	1	0	0	2.00
Vizsla Silver	0	0	2	0	3.00

Fortuna Silver Mines presently has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 36.36%. Vizsla Silver has a consensus target price of $4.33, indicating a potential upside of 128.07%. Given Vizsla Silver’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vizsla Silver is more favorable than Fortuna Silver Mines.

Volatility & Risk

Fortuna Silver Mines has a beta of 1.57, suggesting that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vizsla Silver has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vizsla Silver beats Fortuna Silver Mines on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fortuna Silver Mines

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. engages in the precious and base metal mining in Argentina, Burkina Faso, Mexico, Peru, and Côte d'Ivoire. It operates through Mansfield, Sanu, Sango, Cuzcatlan, Bateas, and Corporate segments. The company primarily explores for silver, lead, zinc, and gold. Its flagship project is the Séguéla gold mine, which consists of approximately 62,000 hectares and is located in the Worodougou Region of the Woroba District, Côte d'Ivoire. The company was formerly known as Fortuna Ventures Inc. and changed its name to Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. in June 2005. Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

About Vizsla Silver

Vizsla Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, and development of precious and base metal assets. The company explores for gold, silver, and copper deposits. It owns 100% interest in the Panuco Project covering an area of 7,189.5 hectares located in located in southern Sinaloa, Mexico. The company was formerly known as Vizsla Resources Corp. and changed its name to Vizsla Silver Corp. in February 2021. Vizsla Silver Corp. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.