Akerna's (NASDAQ:KERN) Stock Price Has Reduced29% In The Past Year

Investors can approximate the average market return by buying an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. That downside risk was realized by Akerna Corp. (NASDAQ:KERN) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 29%. That's well below the market return of 20%. Because Akerna hasn't been listed for many years, the market is still learning about how the business performs. In the last ninety days we've seen the share price slide 31%.

See our latest analysis for Akerna

Because Akerna 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. 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.

Akerna grew its revenue by 35% over the last year. We think that is pretty nice growth. Meanwhile, the share price is down 29% over twelve months, which is disappointing given the progress made. You might even wonder if the share price was previously over-hyped. But if revenue keeps growing, then at a certain point the share price would likely follow.

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

It's probably worth noting that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

While Akerna shareholders are down 29% for the year, the market itself is up 20%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. It's worth noting that the last three months did the real damage, with a 31% decline. This probably signals that the business has recently disappointed shareholders - it will take time to win them back. 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 5 warning signs for Akerna you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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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