Yahoo Finance Shareholders in Babylon Holdings (NYSE:BBLN) are in the red if they invested a year ago
The art and science of stock market investing requires a tolerance for losing money on some of the shares you buy. But serious investors should think long and hard about avoiding extreme losses. We wouldn't blame Babylon Holdings Limited (NYSE:BBLN) shareholders if they were still in shock after the stock dropped like a lead balloon, down 90% in just one year. That'd be enough to make even the strongest stomachs churn. Babylon Holdings hasn't been listed for long, so although we're wary of recent listings that perform poorly, it may still prove itself with time. Furthermore, it's down 74% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.
So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
See our latest analysis for Babylon Holdings
Babylon Holdings isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.
In the last twelve months, Babylon Holdings increased its revenue by 272%. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. So on the face of it we're really surprised to see the share price down 90% over twelve months. Something weird is definitely impacting the stock price; we'd venture the company has destroyed value somehow. We'd recommend taking a very close look at the stock (and any available forecasts), before considering a purchase, because the share price is not correlated with the revenue growth, that's for sure. Of course, investors do over-react when they are stressed out, so the sell-off could be unjustifiably severe.
The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts
A Different Perspective
We doubt Babylon Holdings shareholders are happy with the loss of 90% over twelve months. That falls short of the market, which lost 20%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. With the stock down 74% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Given the relatively short history of this stock, we'd remain pretty wary until we see some strong business performance. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Babylon Holdings that you should be aware of before investing here.
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
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.
