Shareholders in WANdisco (LON:WAND) are in the red if they invested five years ago
While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the WANdisco plc (LON:WAND) share price up 20% in a single quarter. But don't envy holders -- looking back over 5 years the returns have been really bad. The share price has failed to impress anyone , down a sizable 59% during that time. So we're not so sure if the recent bounce should be celebrated. Of course, this could be the start of a turnaround.
Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.
Check out our latest analysis for WANdisco
Because WANdisco 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. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.
Over half a decade WANdisco reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 9.8% for each year. That puts it in an unattractive cohort, to put it mildly. It seems appropriate, then, that the share price slid about 10% annually during that time. It's fair to say most investors don't like to invest in loss making companies with falling revenue. This looks like a really risky stock to buy, at a glance.
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. You can see what analysts are predicting for WANdisco in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.
A Different Perspective
We regret to report that WANdisco shareholders are down 6.0% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 2.0%. 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. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 10% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand WANdisco better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for WANdisco you should be aware of.
WANdisco 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 GB 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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