ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ – Get Free Report) and PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap business services 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.
Risk & Volatility
ARQ has a beta of 2, suggesting that its stock price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PureCycle Technologies has a beta of 2.5, suggesting that its stock price is 150% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares ARQ and PureCycle Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| ARQ | -43.93% | -2.67% | -2.00% |
| PureCycle Technologies | -2,062.36% | -393.01% | -22.56% |
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| ARQ | $120.34 million | 0.69 | -$52.61 million | ($1.29) | -1.50 |
| PureCycle Technologies | $8.35 million | 128.23 | -$182.57 million | ($1.47) | -4.03 |
ARQ has higher revenue and earnings than PureCycle Technologies. PureCycle Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ARQ, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for ARQ and PureCycle Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| ARQ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| PureCycle Technologies | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.50 |
ARQ currently has a consensus target price of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 157.73%. PureCycle Technologies has a consensus target price of $12.25, suggesting a potential upside of 106.93%. Given ARQ’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe ARQ is more favorable than PureCycle Technologies.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
18.5% of ARQ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.0% of PureCycle Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 20.1% of ARQ shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.8% of PureCycle Technologies 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.
Summary
ARQ beats PureCycle Technologies on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About ARQ
Arq, Inc. is a holding company. It engages in the provision of environmental and emission control equipment to the power generation industry. The company operates through the following Segments: Refined Coal and Advanced Purification Technologies. The Refined Coal segment includes the Tinuum Group, Tinuum Services, and GWN Manager. The Advanced Purification Technologies segment refers to the sale of Activated Carbon Injection and Dry Sorbent Injection equipment systems, chemical sales, consulting services, and other sales related to the reduction of emissions in the coal-fired electric generation process and the electric utility industry. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO.
About PureCycle Technologies
PureCycle Technologies, Inc. engages in the production of recycled polypropylene (PP). The company holds a license for restoring waste PP into ultra-pure recycled polypropylene resin that has multiple applications, including packaging and labeling for consumer products, piping, ropes, cabling, and plastic parts for various industries. Its recycling process separates color, odor, and other contaminants from plastic waste feedstock to transform it into virgin-like resin. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
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