U.S. markets closed
  • S&P 500

    4,109.31
    +58.48 (+1.44%)
     
  • Dow 30

    33,274.15
    +415.12 (+1.26%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    12,221.91
    +208.43 (+1.74%)
     
  • Russell 2000

    1,802.48
    +34.10 (+1.93%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    75.70
    +1.33 (+1.79%)
     
  • Gold

    1,987.00
    -10.70 (-0.54%)
     
  • Silver

    24.24
    +0.25 (+1.03%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0847
    -0.0062 (-0.56%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    3.4940
    -0.0570 (-1.61%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2332
    -0.0058 (-0.47%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    132.7970
    +0.1080 (+0.08%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    28,432.95
    +117.71 (+0.42%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    621.79
    +7.58 (+1.23%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,631.74
    +11.31 (+0.15%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    28,041.48
    +258.55 (+0.93%)
     

Midwest Holding (NASDAQ:MDWT shareholders incur further losses as stock declines 25% this week, taking five-year losses to 84%

Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. We really hate to see fellow investors lose their hard-earned money. Spare a thought for those who held Midwest Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:MDWT) for five whole years - as the share price tanked 84%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 67% over the last twelve months. On top of that, the share price is down 25% in the last week. 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.

With the stock having lost 25% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

View our latest analysis for Midwest Holding

Because Midwest Holding made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Over five years, Midwest Holding grew its revenue at 32% per year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. So on the face of it we're really surprised to see the share price has averaged a fall of 13% each year, in the same time period. It could be that the stock was over-hyped before. While there might be an opportunity here, you'd want to take a close look at the balance sheet strength.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Midwest Holding will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

A Different Perspective

Midwest Holding shareholders are down 67% for the year, but the market itself is up 5.9%. 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. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 13% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild 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 business. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Midwest Holding you should be aware of, and 1 of them is significant.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.