Imagine Owning NeoPhotonics (NYSE:NPTN) And Wondering If The 48% Share Price Slide Is Justified
Many investors define successful investing as beating the market average over the long term. But the risk of stock picking is that you will likely buy under-performing companies. Unfortunately, that’s been the case for longer term NeoPhotonics Corporation (NYSE:NPTN) shareholders, since the share price is down 48% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 47%. Unfortunately the share price momentum is still quite negative, with prices down 13% in thirty days. This could be related to the recent financial results – you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.
See our latest analysis for NeoPhotonics
Because NeoPhotonics is loss-making, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn’t make profits, we’d generally expect to see good revenue growth. That’s because it’s hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.
Over the last three years, NeoPhotonics’s revenue dropped 7.9% per year. That is not a good result. The annual decline of 20% per year in that period has clearly disappointed holders. That makes sense given the lack of either profits or revenue growth. However, in this kind of situation you can sometimes find opportunity, where sentiment is negative but the company is actually making good progress.
You can see how revenue and earnings have changed over time in the image below, (click on the chart to see cashflow).
If you are thinking of buying or selling NeoPhotonics stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.
A Different Perspective
Investors in NeoPhotonics had a tough year, with a total loss of 8.0%, against a market gain of about 3.0%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year’s performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 4.6% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
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.
