Coastal Financial (NASDAQ:CCB) Shareholders Have Enjoyed A 16% Share Price Gain

On average, over time, stock markets tend to rise higher. This makes investing attractive. But if when you choose to buy stocks, some of them will be below average performers. For example, the Coastal Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCB), share price is up over the last year, but its gain of 16% trails the market return. Note that businesses generally develop over the long term, so the returns over the last year might not reflect a long term trend.

View our latest analysis for Coastal Financial

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During the last year Coastal Financial grew its earnings per share (EPS) by 11%. This EPS growth is significantly lower than the 16% increase in the share price. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it a year ago.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

A Different Perspective

We're happy to report that Coastal Financial are up 16% over the year. Unfortunately this falls short of the market return of around 24%. However, that falls short of the 40% gain it has made, for shareholders, in the last three months. The very recent increase in the share price could be evidence that the narrative is changing for the better due to fundamental improvements. 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 Coastal Financial is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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