Strong week for Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP) shareholders doesn't alleviate pain of three-year loss

Investing in stocks inevitably means buying into some companies that perform poorly. But the long term shareholders of Trupanion, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRUP) have had an unfortunate run in the last three years. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 57% drop in the share price over that period. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 27% in the last three months.

While the stock has risen 5.5% in the past week but long term shareholders are still in the red, let's see what the fundamentals can tell us.

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Trupanion 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last three years, Trupanion saw its revenue grow by 20% per year, compound. That's a pretty good rate of top-line growth. That contrasts with the weak share price, which has fallen 16% compounded, over three years. To be frank we're surprised to see revenue growth and share price growth diverge so strongly. So this is one stock that might be worth investigating further, or even adding to your watchlist.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Trupanion has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 57% in the last twelve months. That's better than the annualised return of 3% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Trupanion that you should be aware of before investing here.

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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.