Yahoo Finance The past five years for Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) investors has not been profitable
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. Anyone who held Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) for five years would be nursing their metaphorical wounds since the share price dropped 90% in that time. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 19% in the last 90 days. While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.
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.
View our latest analysis for Esperion Therapeutics
Given that Esperion Therapeutics didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.
Over five years, Esperion Therapeutics grew its revenue at 23% per year. That's better than most loss-making companies. So on the face of it we're really surprised to see the share price has averaged a fall of 14% 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 company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
Esperion Therapeutics is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts
A Different Perspective
It's nice to see that Esperion Therapeutics shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 56% over the last year. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 14% per year over five years. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Esperion Therapeutics (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.
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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