The Cerence (NASDAQ:CRNC) Share Price Is Up 415% And Shareholders Are Delighted

Active investing isn't easy, but for those that do it, the aim is to find the best companies to buy, and to profit handsomely. When you buy and hold the right company, the returns can make a huge difference to both you and your family. For example, the Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNC) share price rocketed moonwards 415% in just one year. On top of that, the share price is up 28% in about a quarter. But this could be related to the strong market, which is up 16% in the last three months. Cerence hasn't been listed for long, so it's still not clear if it is a long term winner.

Check out our latest analysis for Cerence

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Cerence went from making a loss to reporting a profit, in the last year.

When a company is just on the edge of profitability it can be well worth considering other metrics in order to more precisely gauge growth (and therefore understand share price movements).

However the year on year revenue growth of 13% would help. Many businesses do go through a phase where they have to forgo some profits to drive business development, and sometimes its for the best.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Cerence is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Cerence will earn in the future (free analyst consensus estimates)

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Cerence shareholders have gained 415% over the last year. That's better than the more recent three month gain of 28%, implying that share price has plateaued recently. It seems likely the market is waiting on fundamental developments with the business before pushing the share price higher (or lower). While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 5 warning signs with Cerence , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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