Investors push Ping Identity Holding (NYSE:PING) 5.4% lower this week, company's increasing losses might be to blame

These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. For example, the Ping Identity Holding Corp. (NYSE:PING) share price is up 27% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market decline of around 1.0% (not including dividends). If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! Ping Identity Holding hasn't been listed for long, so it's still not clear if it is a long term winner.

Although Ping Identity Holding has shed US$137m from its market cap this week, let's take a look at its longer term fundamental trends and see if they've driven returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Ping Identity Holding

Ping Identity Holding wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

Over the last twelve months, Ping Identity Holding's revenue grew by 23%. We respect that sort of growth, no doubt. While the share price performed well, gaining 27% over twelve months, you could argue the revenue growth warranted it. If the company can maintain the revenue growth, the share price could go higher still. But it's crucial to check profitability and cash flow before forming a view on the future.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

Ping Identity Holding is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.

A Different Perspective

Ping Identity Holding shareholders should be happy with the total gain of 27% over the last twelve months. And the share price momentum remains respectable, with a gain of 43% in the last three months. This suggests the company is continuing to win over new investors. 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. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Ping Identity Holding (1 doesn't sit too well with us) that you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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. 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.