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Easy Come, Easy Go: How Jackpot Digital (CVE:JP) Shareholders Torched 95% Of Their Cash

Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. For example, we sympathize with anyone who was caught holding Jackpot Digital Inc. (CVE:JP) during the five years that saw its share price drop a whopping 95%. And it's not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 87% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 58% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

We really hope anyone holding through that price crash has a diversified portfolio. Even when you lose money, you don't have to lose the lesson.

View our latest analysis for Jackpot Digital

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Because Jackpot Digital is loss-making, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In the last half decade, Jackpot Digital saw its revenue increase by 32% per year. That's better than most loss-making companies. So it's not at all clear to us why the share price sunk 46% throughout that time. It could be that the stock was over-hyped before. We'd recommend carefully checking for indications of future growth - and balance sheet threats - before considering a purchase.

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

TSXV:JP Income Statement, November 14th 2019
TSXV:JP Income Statement, November 14th 2019

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Jackpot Digital's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

Jackpot Digital shareholders are down 87% for the year, but the market itself is up 11%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 46% per year over five years. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of Jackpot Digital by clicking this link.

Jackpot Digital is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments 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 CA exchanges.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. 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. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.