Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings (NASDAQ:ARCT shareholders incur further losses as stock declines 9.8% this week, taking three-year losses to 63%

Investing in stocks inevitably means buying into some companies that perform poorly. But the last three years have been particularly tough on longer term Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ARCT) shareholders. Unfortunately, they have held through a 63% decline in the share price in that time. And the ride hasn't got any smoother in recent times over the last year, with the price 40% lower in that time. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 17% in the last three months.

With the stock having lost 9.8% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

Check out our latest analysis for Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings 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. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last three years, Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings saw its revenue grow by 48% per year, compound. That is faster than most pre-profit companies. In contrast, the share price is down 18% compound, over three years - disappointing by most standards. This could mean hype has come out of the stock because the losses are concerning investors. But a share price drop of that magnitude could well signal that the market is overly negative on the stock.

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

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 29% in the last year, Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings shareholders lost 40%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 9%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. Most investors take the time to check the data on insider transactions. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

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.