A Look At Selecta Biosciences' (NASDAQ:SELB) Share Price Returns
It is doubtless a positive to see that the Selecta Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SELB) share price has gained some 47% in the last three months. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. Truth be told the share price declined 48% in three years and that return, Dear Reader, falls short of what you could have got from passive investing with an index fund.
Check out our latest analysis for Selecta Biosciences
Selecta Biosciences isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong 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 three years, Selecta Biosciences grew revenue at 96% per year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. The share price drop of 14% per year over three years would be considered disappointing by many, so you might argue the company is getting little credit for its impressive revenue growth. It's possible that the prior share price assumed unrealistically high future growth. Still, with high hopes now tempered, now might prove to be an opportunity to buy.
You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Selecta Biosciences
A Different Perspective
Selecta Biosciences shareholders are up 11% for the year. While you don't go broke making a profit, this return was actually lower than the average market return of about 32%. The silver lining is that the recent rise is far preferable to the annual loss of 14% that shareholders have suffered over the last three years. We hope the turnaround in fortunes continues. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Selecta Biosciences (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) .
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do 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.
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. 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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