If You Had Bought Factor Therapeutics (ASX:FTT) Stock Five Years Ago, You'd Be Sitting On A 99% Loss, Today
Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Spare a thought for those who held Factor Therapeutics Limited (ASX:FTT) for five whole years - as the share price tanked 99%. We also note that the stock has performed poorly over the last year, with the share price down 96%. Furthermore, it's down 14% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.
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.
View our latest analysis for Factor Therapeutics
With just AU$2,382,490 worth of revenue in twelve months, we don't think the market considers Factor Therapeutics to have proven its business plan. This state of affairs suggests that venture capitalists won't provide funds on attractive terms. As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. It seems likely some shareholders believe that Factor Therapeutics has the funding to invent a new product before too long.
We think companies that have neither significant revenues nor profits are pretty high risk. You should be aware that there is always a chance that this sort of company will need to issue more shares to raise money to continue pursuing its business plan. While some such companies do very well over the long term, others become hyped up by promoters before eventually falling back down to earth, and going bankrupt (or being recapitalized). Factor Therapeutics has already given some investors a taste of the bitter losses that high risk investing can cause.
Factor Therapeutics had cash in excess of all liabilities of just AU$3.1m when it last reported (June 2019). So if it hasn't remedied the situation already, it will almost certainly have to raise more capital soon. With that in mind, you can understand why the share price dropped 60% per year, over 5 years . You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Factor Therapeutics's cash levels have changed over time. The image below shows how Factor Therapeutics's balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.
In reality it's hard to have much certainty when valuing a business that has neither revenue or profit. Given that situation, would you be concerned if it turned out insiders were relentlessly selling stock? It would bother me, that's for sure. It only takes a moment for you to check whether we have identified any insider sales recently.
A Different Perspective
Factor Therapeutics shareholders are down 96% for the year, but the market itself is up 19%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 60% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. If you would like to research Factor Therapeutics in more detail then you might want to take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in the company.
Of course Factor Therapeutics 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 AU 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.
