Strong week for Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:DCPH) shareholders doesn't alleviate pain of three-year loss
While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:DCPH) share price up 20% in a single quarter. But over the last three years we've seen a quite serious decline. Tragically, the share price declined 68% in that time. So it's good to see it climbing back up. The rise has some hopeful, but turnarounds are often precarious.
Although the past week has been more reassuring for shareholders, they're still in the red over the last three years, so let's see if the underlying business has been responsible for the decline.
View our latest analysis for Deciphera Pharmaceuticals
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals 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. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.
In the last three years, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals saw its revenue grow by 39% per year, compound. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. In contrast, the share price is down 19% compound, over three years - disappointing by most standards. This could mean hype has come out of the stock because the losses are concerning investors. When we see revenue growth, paired with a falling share price, we can't help wonder if there is an opportunity for those who are willing to dig deeper.
You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. You can see what analysts are predicting for Deciphera Pharmaceuticals in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.
A Different Perspective
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals shareholders are down 18% for the year, but the market itself is up 20%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 8% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. 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. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Deciphera Pharmaceuticals that you should be aware of before investing here.
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
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.
