Despite currently being unprofitable, Nanobiotix (EPA:NANO) has delivered a 64% return to shareholders over 1 year

It certainly might concern Nanobiotix S.A. (EPA:NANO) shareholders to see the share price down 31% in just 30 days. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last year have been pleasing. Looking at the full year, the company has easily bested an index fund by gaining 64%.

Although Nanobiotix has shed €70m from its market cap this week, let's take a look at its longer term fundamental trends and see if they've driven returns.

View our latest analysis for Nanobiotix

Nanobiotix 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. 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.

Nanobiotix grew its revenue by 154% last year. That's a head and shoulders above most loss-making companies. While the share price gain of 64% over twelve months is pretty tasty, you might argue it doesn't fully reflect the strong revenue growth. So quite frankly it could be a good time to investigate Nanobiotix in some detail. Human beings have trouble conceptualizing (and valuing) exponential growth. Is that what we're seeing here?

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

It's nice to see that Nanobiotix shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 64% over the last year. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 9% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. 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 5 warning signs for Nanobiotix (of which 2 don't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

We will like Nanobiotix better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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