Luminar Technologies (NASDAQ:LAZR) shareholders have endured a 37% loss from investing in the stock three years ago
While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Luminar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LAZR) share price has gained 20% in the last three months. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. After all, the share price is down 37% in the last three years, significantly under-performing the market.
So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
See our latest analysis for Luminar Technologies
Luminar Technologies isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. 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 three years, Luminar Technologies grew revenue at 44% per year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. The share price drop of 11% 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.
The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. If you are thinking of buying or selling Luminar Technologies stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.
A Different Perspective
We're pleased to report that Luminar Technologies rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 18% over the last year. This recent result is much better than the 11% drop suffered by shareholders each year (on average) over the last three. It could well be that the business has turned around -- or else regained the confidence of investors. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Luminar Technologies better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Luminar Technologies .
Luminar Technologies is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.
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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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