Strong week for Cue Biopharma (NASDAQ:CUE) shareholders doesn't alleviate pain of five-year loss

It is doubtless a positive to see that the Cue Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:CUE) share price has gained some 69% in the last three months. But will that repair the damage for the weary investors who have owned this stock as it declined over half a decade? Probably not. Five years have seen the share price descend precipitously, down a full 90%. So we don't gain too much confidence from the recent recovery. The fundamental business performance will ultimately determine if the turnaround can be sustained. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

The recent uptick of 20% could be a positive sign of things to come, so let's take a look at historical fundamentals.

View our latest analysis for Cue Biopharma

Because Cue Biopharma made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. 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 half decade, Cue Biopharma saw its revenue increase by 10.0% per year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. So the stock price fall of 14% per year seems pretty steep. The truth is that the growth might be below expectations, and investors are probably worried about the continual losses.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Take a more thorough look at Cue Biopharma's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Cue Biopharma had a tough year, with a total loss of 49%, against a market gain of about 33%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 14% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Cue Biopharma better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 6 warning signs for Cue Biopharma (of which 3 don't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

Of course Cue Biopharma may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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.