Even though Repligen (NASDAQ:RGEN) has lost US$800m market cap in last 7 days, shareholders are still up 64% over 5 years

The main point of investing for the long term is to make money. But more than that, you probably want to see it rise more than the market average. But Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 64% over five years, which is below the market return. The last year has been disappointing, with the stock price down 7.1% in that time.

While this past week has detracted from the company's five-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

See our latest analysis for Repligen

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During five years of share price growth, Repligen achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 14% per year. We note, however, that extraordinary items have impacted earnings. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 10% over the same period. So one could conclude that the broader market has become more cautious towards the stock.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free interactive report on Repligen's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

Repligen shareholders are down 7.1% for the year, but the market itself is up 28%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 10% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Repligen better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Repligen you should know about.

Repligen is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find lesser know companies this free list of growing 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.