Can You Imagine How Elated Aspen Group's (NASDAQ:ASPU) Shareholders Feel About Its 311% Share Price Gain?

While Aspen Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASPU) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 27% in the last quarter. But over five years returns have been remarkably great. In fact, during that period, the share price climbed 311%. Impressive! Arguably, the recent fall is to be expected after such a strong rise. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price.

View our latest analysis for Aspen Group

Aspen Group isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. 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.

For the last half decade, Aspen Group can boast revenue growth at a rate of 39% per year. Even measured against other revenue-focussed companies, that's a good result. Fortunately, the market has not missed this, and has pushed the share price up by 33% per year in that time. Despite the strong run, top performers like Aspen Group have been known to go on winning for decades. So we'd recommend you take a closer look at this one, but keep in mind the market seems optimistic.

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

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

A Different Perspective

Aspen Group shareholders gained a total return of 1.1% during the year. But that was short of the market average. On the bright side, the longer term returns (running at about 33% a year, over half a decade) look better. Maybe the share price is just taking a breather while the business executes on its growth strategy. 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. Take risks, for example - Aspen Group has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you are like me, then you will 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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