While shareholders of Vivoryon Therapeutics (AMS:VVY) are in the black over 3 years, those who bought a week ago aren't so fortunate

The last three months have been tough on Vivoryon Therapeutics N.V. (AMS:VVY) shareholders, who have seen the share price decline a rather worrying 48%. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been pleasing. In the last three years the share price is up, 66%: better than the market.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 10%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Vivoryon Therapeutics

Because Vivoryon Therapeutics 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. 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 Vivoryon Therapeutics saw its revenue grow at 171% per year. That's much better than most loss-making companies. While the compound gain of 18% per year over three years is pretty good, you might argue it doesn't fully reflect the strong revenue growth. So now might be the perfect time to put Vivoryon Therapeutics on your radar. A window of opportunity may reveal itself with time, if the business can trend to profitability.

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

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

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Vivoryon Therapeutics' 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. We note that Vivoryon Therapeutics' TSR, at 70% is higher than its share price return of 66%. When you consider it hasn't been paying a dividend, this data suggests shareholders have benefitted from a spin-off, or had the opportunity to acquire attractively priced shares in a discounted capital raising.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 11% in the twelve months, Vivoryon Therapeutics shareholders did even worse, losing 36%. 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 8% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. 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. Even so, be aware that Vivoryon Therapeutics is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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