Did Changing Sentiment Drive Perion Network's (NASDAQ:PERI) Share Price Down A Painful 90%?
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Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. Imagine if you held Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ:PERI) for half a decade as the share price tanked 90%. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 12% in the last three months.
We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.
Check out our latest analysis for Perion Network
To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
During five years of share price growth, Perion Network moved from a loss to profitability. That would generally be considered a positive, so we are surprised to see the share price is down. Other metrics might give us a better handle on how its value is changing over time.
It could be that the revenue decline of 6.8% per year is viewed as evidence that Perion Network is shrinking. This has probably encouraged some shareholders to sell down the stock.
Depicted in the graphic below, you'll see revenue and earnings over time. If you want more detail, you can click on the chart itself.
We know that Perion Network has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? You can see what analysts are predicting for Perion Network in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.
A Different Perspective
It's nice to see that Perion Network shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 33% over the last year. That certainly beats the loss of about 37% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. Before spending more time on Perion Network it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.
Of course Perion Network may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
