Praxis Home Retail (NSE:PRAXIS) adds ₹414m to market cap in the past 7 days, though investors from three years ago are still down 45%

Praxis Home Retail Limited (NSE:PRAXIS) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 16% in the last month. But that cannot eclipse the less-than-impressive returns over the last three years. Truth be told the share price declined 70% in three years and that return, Dear Reader, falls short of what you could have got from passive investing with an index fund.

On a more encouraging note the company has added ₹414m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the three-year loss for shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for Praxis Home Retail

Because Praxis Home Retail made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over the last three years, Praxis Home Retail's revenue dropped 25% per year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. And as you might expect the share price has been weak too, dropping at a rate of 19% per year. We prefer leave it to clowns to try to catch falling knives, like this stock. It's worth remembering that investors call buying a steeply falling share price 'catching a falling knife' because it is a dangerous pass time.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

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

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Praxis Home Retail's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Praxis Home Retail hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of -45% exceeds its share price return of -70%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.

A Different Perspective

Pleasingly, Praxis Home Retail's total shareholder return last year was 83%. That certainly beats the loss of about 13% per year over three years. It could well be that the business has turned around -- or else regained the confidence of investors. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Praxis Home Retail better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 5 warning signs with Praxis Home Retail (at least 3 which are concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

We will like Praxis Home Retail 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 IN 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.