Further weakness as Acutus Medical (NASDAQ:AFIB) drops 12% this week, taking one-year losses to 70%

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Even the best stock pickers will make plenty of bad investments. Anyone who held Acutus Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFIB) over the last year knows what a loser feels like. The share price has slid 70% in that time. Because Acutus Medical hasn't been listed for many years, the market is still learning about how the business performs. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 44% in the last 90 days.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

See our latest analysis for Acutus Medical

Because Acutus Medical made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last year Acutus Medical saw its revenue grow by 248%. That's a strong result which is better than most other loss making companies. Meanwhile, the share price slid 70%. This could mean hype has come out of the stock because the bottom line is concerning investors. Generally speaking investors would consider a stock like this less risky once it turns a profit. But when do you think that will happen?

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

Take a more thorough look at Acutus Medical's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Given that the market gained 31% in the last year, Acutus Medical shareholders might be miffed that they lost 70%. While the aim is to do better than that, it's worth recalling that even great long-term investments sometimes underperform for a year or more. The share price decline has continued throughout the most recent three months, down 44%, suggesting an absence of enthusiasm from investors. Given the relatively short history of this stock, we'd remain pretty wary until we see some strong business performance. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Acutus Medical (1 is a bit concerning) that you should be aware of.

We will like Acutus Medical better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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