While shareholders of electroCore (NASDAQ:ECOR) are in the black over 1 year, those who bought a week ago aren't so fortunate

The electroCore, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECOR) share price is down a rather concerning 53% in the last month. But that doesn't change the reality that over twelve months the stock has done really well. Looking at the full year, the company has easily bested an index fund by gaining 18%.

While this past week has detracted from the company's one-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

Check out our latest analysis for electroCore

electroCore wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

Over the last twelve months, electroCore's revenue grew by 57%. That's a head and shoulders above most loss-making companies. The solid 18% share price gain goes down pretty well, but it's not necessarily as good as you might expect given the top notch revenue growth. If that's the case, now might be the time to take a close look at electroCore. Human beings have trouble conceptualizing (and valuing) exponential growth. Is that what we're seeing here?

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

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. If you are thinking of buying or selling electroCore stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that electroCore shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 18% over the last year. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 3%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with electroCore .

electroCore is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find lesser know companies 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 American 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.