Shareholders in Compugen (NASDAQ:CGEN) are in the red if they invested a year ago
Even the best investor on earth makes unsuccessful investments. But it's not unreasonable to try to avoid truly shocking capital losses. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGEN); the share price is down a whopping 83% in the last twelve months. While some investors are willing to stomach this sort of loss, they are usually professionals who spread their bets thinly. We note that it has not been easy for shareholders over three years, either; the share price is down 69% in that time. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 38% in the last 90 days. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.
It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that.
View our latest analysis for Compugen
Compugen wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.
Compugen grew its revenue by 200% over the last year. That's a strong result which is better than most other loss making companies. So the hefty 83% share price crash makes us think the company has somehow offended market participants. Something weird is definitely impacting the stock price; we'd venture the company has destroyed value somehow. We'd recommend taking a very close look at the stock (and any available forecasts), before considering a purchase, because the share price is not correlated with the revenue growth, that's for sure. Of course, investors do over-react when they are stressed out, so the sell-off could be unjustifiably severe.
You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
This free interactive report on Compugen's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
A Different Perspective
While the broader market lost about 17% in the twelve months, Compugen shareholders did even worse, losing 83%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 10% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Compugen better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Compugen (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.
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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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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