Zealand Pharma (CPH:ZEAL) delivers shareholders enviable 59% CAGR over 3 years, surging 3.3% in the last week alone

Investing can be hard but the potential fo an individual stock to pay off big time inspires us. You won't get it right every time, but when you do, the returns can be truly splendid. For example, the Zealand Pharma A/S (CPH:ZEAL) share price is up a whopping 303% in the last three years, a handsome return for long term holders. And in the last week the share price has popped 3.3%.

On the back of a solid 7-day performance, let's check what role the company's fundamentals have played in driving long term shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for Zealand Pharma

Given that Zealand Pharma 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 desire 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 3 years Zealand Pharma saw its revenue grow at 44% per year. That's much better than most loss-making companies. In light of this attractive revenue growth, it seems somewhat appropriate that the share price has been rocketing, boasting a gain of 59% per year, over the same period. Despite the strong run, top performers like Zealand Pharma have been known to go on winning for decades. In fact, it might be time to put it on your watchlist, if you're not already familiar with the stock.

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

Zealand Pharma is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. If you are thinking of buying or selling Zealand Pharma stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst consensus estimates for future profits.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Zealand Pharma shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 180% over the last year. That's better than the annualised return of 31% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Zealand Pharma better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Zealand Pharma that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Danish 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.