Those who invested in Nutanix (NASDAQ:NTNX) a year ago are up 157%

Unless you borrow money to invest, the potential losses are limited. But if you pick the right stock, you can make a lot more than 100%. Take, for example Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTNX). Its share price is already up an impressive 157% in the last twelve months. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 11% gain in the last three months. It is also impressive that the stock is up 124% over three years, adding to the sense that it is a real winner.

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

Check out our latest analysis for Nutanix

Given that Nutanix didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Nutanix grew its revenue by 18% last year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. While that revenue growth is pretty good the share price performance outshone it, with a lift of 157% as mentioned above. If the profitability is on the horizon then now could be a very exciting time to be a shareholder. Of course, we are always cautious about succumbing to 'fear of missing out' when a stock has shot up strongly.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Nutanix is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. If you are thinking of buying or selling Nutanix stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst consensus estimates for future profits.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Nutanix shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 157% over one year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 7% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Nutanix you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.

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 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.