How Much Did Pieris Pharmaceuticals'(NASDAQ:PIRS) Shareholders Earn From Share Price Movements Over The Last Three Years?

While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PIRS) share price up 28% in a single quarter. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been disappointing. In that time, the share price dropped 64%. Some might say the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. Perhaps the company has turned over a new leaf.

View our latest analysis for Pieris Pharmaceuticals

Because Pieris Pharmaceuticals 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 expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over three years, Pieris Pharmaceuticals grew revenue at 29% per year. That is faster than most pre-profit companies. The share price has moved in quite the opposite direction, down 18% over that time, a bad result. It seems likely that the market is worried about the continual losses. 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).

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

Pieris Pharmaceuticals shareholders are down 17% for the year, but the market itself is up 23%. 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 4%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. 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. Take risks, for example - Pieris Pharmaceuticals has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is significant) we think you should know about.

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

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