Yahoo Finance Investors in Xos (NASDAQ:XOS) have unfortunately lost 80% over the last year
As every investor would know, you don't hit a homerun every time you swing. But serious investors should think long and hard about avoiding extreme losses. It must have been painful to be a Xos, Inc. (NASDAQ:XOS) shareholder over the last year, since the stock price plummeted 80% in that time. While some investors are willing to stomach this sort of loss, they are usually professionals who spread their bets thinly. Xos may have better days ahead, of course; we've only looked at a one year period. Furthermore, it's down 20% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report. 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.
Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns.
See our latest analysis for Xos
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
During the last year Xos grew its earnings per share, moving from a loss to a profit.
We're surprised that the share price is lower given that improvement. If the company can sustain the earnings growth, this might be an inflection point for the business, which would make right now a really interesting time to study it more closely.
The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
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. This free interactive report on Xos' earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
A Different Perspective
Xos shareholders are down 80% for the year, even worse than the market loss of 8.8%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. The share price decline has continued throughout the most recent three months, down 20%, suggesting an absence of enthusiasm from investors. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. 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. Take risks, for example - Xos has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
Xos 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 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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