Anika Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ANIK shareholders incur further losses as stock declines 30% this week, taking five-year losses to 72%

Long term investing is the way to go, but that doesn't mean you should hold every stock forever. It hits us in the gut when we see fellow investors suffer a loss. Imagine if you held Anika Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANIK) for half a decade as the share price tanked 72%. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 34% in the last 90 days. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report.

If the past week is anything to go by, investor sentiment for Anika Therapeutics isn't positive, so let's see if there's a mismatch between fundamentals and the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for Anika Therapeutics

Given that Anika Therapeutics didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

Over five years, Anika Therapeutics grew its revenue at 7.8% per year. That's a pretty good rate for a long time period. So the stock price fall of 11% per year seems pretty steep. The truth is that the growth might be below expectations, and investors are probably worried about the continual losses.

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

This free interactive report on Anika Therapeutics' balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Anika Therapeutics had a tough year, with a total loss of 19%, against a market gain of about 32%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. However, the loss over the last year isn't as bad as the 11% per annum loss investors have suffered over the last half decade. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. Before spending more time on Anika Therapeutics it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of undervalued 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.