iNtRON Biotechnology (KOSDAQ:048530 investor three-year losses grow to 73% as the stock sheds ₩26b this past week

As every investor would know, not every swing hits the sweet spot. But you want to avoid the really big losses like the plague. So take a moment to sympathize with the long term shareholders of iNtRON Biotechnology, Inc. (KOSDAQ:048530), who have seen the share price tank a massive 74% over a three year period. That'd be enough to cause even the strongest minds some disquiet. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 37% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 21% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

After losing 15% this past week, it's worth investigating the company's fundamentals to see what we can infer from past performance.

View our latest analysis for iNtRON Biotechnology

iNtRON Biotechnology isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Over the last three years, iNtRON Biotechnology's revenue dropped 53% 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 20% 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.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on iNtRON Biotechnology's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that iNtRON Biotechnology shareholders are down 36% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 1.2%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 10% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for iNtRON Biotechnology you should be aware of, and 2 of them shouldn't be ignored.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: many of them are unnoticed AND have attractive valuation).

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

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

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.