Yahoo Finance Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGMO) investors are sitting on a loss of 78% if they invested five years ago
Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Imagine if you held Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMO) for half a decade as the share price tanked 78%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 57% over the last twelve months. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 34% in the last 90 days.
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 Sangamo Therapeutics
Sangamo Therapeutics 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. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.
Over five years, Sangamo Therapeutics grew its revenue at 19% per year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. So it's not at all clear to us why the share price sunk 12% throughout that time. You'd have to assume the market is worried that profits won't come soon enough. We'd recommend carefully checking for indications of future growth - and balance sheet threats - before considering a purchase.
The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).
Sangamo Therapeutics is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. You can see what analysts are predicting for Sangamo Therapeutics in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.
A Different Perspective
We regret to report that Sangamo Therapeutics shareholders are down 57% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 16%. 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. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 12% per year over five years. 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. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Sangamo Therapeutics , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
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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