Ondas Holdings (NASDAQ:ONDS investor five-year losses grow to 89% as the stock sheds US$9.9m this past week

While it may not be enough for some shareholders, we think it is good to see the Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ONDS) share price up 24% in a single quarter. But will that heal all the wounds inflicted over 5 years of declines? Unlikely. Indeed, the share price is down a whopping 89% in that time. It's true that the recent bounce could signal the company is turning over a new leaf, but we are not so sure. The important question is if the business itself justifies a higher share price in the long term. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

Since Ondas Holdings has shed US$9.9m from its value in the past 7 days, let's see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business' economics.

See our latest analysis for Ondas Holdings

Ondas Holdings isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last half decade, Ondas Holdings saw its revenue increase by 50% per year. That's better than most loss-making companies. So on the face of it we're really surprised to see the share price has averaged a fall of 14% each year, in the same time period. You'd have to assume the market is worried that profits won't come soon enough. We'd recommend carefully checking for indications of future growth - and balance sheet threats - before considering a purchase.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. You can see what analysts are predicting for Ondas Holdings in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Ondas Holdings had a tough year, with a total loss of 26%, against a market gain of about 17%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 14% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Ondas Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Ondas Holdings (2 are potentially serious) that you should be aware of.

Ondas Holdings 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.