Vcanbio Cell & Gene Engineering (SHSE:600645 investor three-year losses grow to 20% as the stock sheds CN¥406m this past week

No-one enjoys it when they lose money on a stock. But when the market is down, you're bound to have some losers. The Vcanbio Cell & Gene Engineering Corp., Ltd (SHSE:600645) share price is down 20% in the last three years. The silver lining to that cloud is that this return is superior to the average market decline of 26%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 12% in the last 90 days. Of course, this share price action may well have been influenced by the 11% decline in the broader market, throughout the period.

With the stock having lost 5.3% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

See our latest analysis for Vcanbio Cell & Gene Engineering

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Vcanbio Cell & Gene Engineering became profitable within the last five years. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So given the share price is down it's worth checking some other metrics too.

We note that, in three years, revenue has actually grown at a 3.2% annual rate, so that doesn't seem to be a reason to sell shares. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Vcanbio Cell & Gene Engineering more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, Vcanbio Cell & Gene Engineering shareholders can take comfort that their trailing twelve month loss of 10% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 19%. Given the total loss of 2% per year over five years, it seems returns have deteriorated in the last twelve months. While some investors do well specializing in buying companies that are struggling (but nonetheless undervalued), don't forget that Buffett said that 'turnarounds seldom turn'. Before forming an opinion on Vcanbio Cell & Gene Engineering you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics.

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 Chinese 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com