Contrasting LanzaTech Global (NASDAQ:LNZA) & Braskem (NYSE:BAK)

LanzaTech Global (NASDAQ:LNZA) and Braskem (NYSE:BAK) are both business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

17.8% of LanzaTech Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Braskem shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares LanzaTech Global and Braskem’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LanzaTech Global	-214.11%	-95.22%	-51.16%
Braskem	-6.61%	-77.04%	-5.18%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for LanzaTech Global and Braskem, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LanzaTech Global	0	0	3	0	3.00
Braskem	1	2	2	0	2.20

LanzaTech Global currently has a consensus price target of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 170.27%. Braskem has a consensus price target of $25.50, indicating a potential upside of 147.33%. Given LanzaTech Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe LanzaTech Global is more favorable than Braskem.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares LanzaTech Global and Braskem’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LanzaTech Global	$62.63 million	9.29	-$134.10 million	($0.94)	-3.15
Braskem	$72.87 billion	0.06	-$917.24 million	($2.46)	-4.19

LanzaTech Global has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Braskem. Braskem is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LanzaTech Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

LanzaTech Global has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Braskem has a beta of 1.93, indicating that its share price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

LanzaTech Global beats Braskem on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LanzaTech Global

LanzaTech Global, Inc. operates as a nature-based carbon refining company in the United States and internationally. The company transforms waste carbon into the chemical building blocks for consumer goods, such as sustainable fuels, fabrics, and packaging. It is also developing biocatalysts and processes to produce a suite of additional products utilizing novel biocatalysts, including acetone and isopropanol (IPA) and industrial solvents used in various applications, including production of polymers from IPA. LanzaTech Global, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Skokie, Illinois.

About Braskem

Braskem S.A., together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells thermoplastic resins. The company operates through three segments: Brazil, United States and Europe, and Mexico. The Brazil segment produces and sells olefins, including ethylene, polymer and chemical grade propylene, butadiene, and butene-1; benzene, toluene, and xylenes products; fuels, such as automotive gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, ethyl tertiary-butyl ether, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether; intermediates, such as cumene; aliphatics, aromatics, and hydrogenated solvents; and specialties comprising isoprene, dicyclopentadiene, piperylene, nonene, tetramer, polyisobutylene, and hydrocarbon resins. This segment also produces and sells polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP); supplies electricity and other inputs to second-generation producers; produces and sells of PE, including the production of green PE from renewable resources; and produces and sells polyvinyl chloride and caustic soda. The United States and Europe segment produces and sells PP in the United States and Germany. The Mexico segment produces and sells ethylene, high-density PE, and low-density PE in Mexico. It also manufactures, sells, imports, and exports chemicals, petrochemicals, and fules; produces, supplies, and sells utilities, such as steam, water, compressed air, and industrial gases; and provides industrial services. The company was formerly known as Copene Petroquímica do Nordeste S.A. and changed its name to Braskem S.A. in 2002. Braskem S.A. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Camaçari, Brazil.