Critical Analysis: LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) & Bolt Projects (NASDAQ:BSLK)

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) and Bolt Projects (NASDAQ:BSLK) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for LyondellBasell Industries and Bolt Projects, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LyondellBasell Industries	4	8	7	1	2.25
Bolt Projects	1	0	0	0	1.00

LyondellBasell Industries currently has a consensus target price of $72.41, suggesting a potential upside of 11.60%. Given LyondellBasell Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe LyondellBasell Industries is more favorable than Bolt Projects.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.2% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.5% of Bolt Projects shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.6% of Bolt Projects 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares LyondellBasell Industries and Bolt Projects”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LyondellBasell Industries	$30.15 billion	0.70	-$738.00 million	($1.13)	-57.42
Bolt Projects	$3.14 million	0.00	-$65.39 million	($11.70)	-0.00

Bolt Projects has lower revenue, but higher earnings than LyondellBasell Industries. LyondellBasell Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bolt Projects, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

LyondellBasell Industries has a beta of 0.31, meaning that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bolt Projects has a beta of 0.31, meaning that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares LyondellBasell Industries and Bolt Projects’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LyondellBasell Industries	-1.13%	17.44%	5.30%
Bolt Projects	-774.20%	N/A	-249.44%

Summary

LyondellBasell Industries beats Bolt Projects on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LyondellBasell Industries

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology. It produces and markets olefins and co-products, polyethylene, and polypropylene; and propylene oxide and derivatives; oxyfuels and related products; and intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, acetyls, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. In addition, the company produce and markets compounding and solutions including polypropylene compounds, engineered plastics, masterbatches, engineered composites, colors and powders, and advanced polymers including catalloy and polybutene-1; and refines heavy, high-sulfur crude oil and other crude oils, as well as refined products, including gasoline and distillates. Further, it develops and licenses chemical and polyolefin process technologies; manufactures and sells polyolefin catalysts; and serves food packaging, home furnishings, automotive components, and paints and coatings applications. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Bolt Projects

Bolt Projects Holdings, Inc. operates as a material solutions company. The company offers B-SILK PROTEIN, a biodegradable ingredient for the beauty and personal care industry. Its products also include MYLO, a mycelium-based leather material; and MICROSILK, a silk fiber. The company is based in San Francisco, California.