Investors Who Bought Leap Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LPTX) Shares A Year Ago Are Now Down 82%
The art and science of stock market investing requires a tolerance for losing money on some of the shares you buy. But serious investors should think long and hard about avoiding extreme losses. It must have been painful to be a Leap Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:LPTX) shareholder over the last year, since the stock price plummeted 82% in that time. That'd be enough to make even the strongest stomachs churn. Leap Therapeutics hasn't been listed for long, so although we're wary of recent listings that perform poorly, it may still prove itself with time. Unfortunately the share price momentum is still quite negative, with prices down 10% in thirty days. Importantly, this could be a market reaction to the recently released financial results. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report.
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.
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Check out our latest analysis for Leap Therapeutics
With zero revenue generated over twelve months, we don't think that Leap Therapeutics has proved its business plan yet. You have to wonder why venture capitalists aren't funding it. So it seems that the investors focused more on what could be, than paying attention to the current revenues (or lack thereof). It seems likely some shareholders believe that Leap 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. There is almost always a chance they will need to raise more capital, and their progress - and share price - will dictate how dilutive that is to current holders. 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). It certainly is a dangerous place to invest, as Leap Therapeutics investors might realise.
When it reported in March 2019 Leap Therapeutics had minimal cash in excess of all liabilities consider its expenditure: just US$13m to be specific. So if it has not already moved to replenish reserves, we think the near-term chances of a capital raising event are pretty high. That probably explains why the share price is down 82% in the last year. You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Leap Therapeutics's cash levels have changed over time.
In reality it's hard to have much certainty when valuing a business that has neither revenue or profit. What if insiders are ditching the stock hand over fist? I'd like that just about as much as I like to drink milk and fruit juice mixed together. It only takes a moment for you to check whether we have identified any insider sales recently.
A Different Perspective
While Leap Therapeutics shareholders are down 82% for the year, the market itself is up 3.8%. 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. With the stock down 0.3% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. You could get a better understanding of Leap Therapeutics's growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.
But note: Leap Therapeutics may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.
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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.
