Further weakness as Oblong (NASDAQ:OBLG) drops 17% this week, taking one-year losses to 30%

The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. When you buy individual stocks, you can make higher profits, but you also face the risk of under-performance. For example, the Oblong Inc. (NASDAQ:OBLG) share price is down 30% in the last year. That's disappointing when you consider the market returned 36%. We wouldn't rush to judgement on Oblong because we don't have a long term history to look at. The share price has dropped 34% in three months. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

Check out our latest analysis for Oblong

Because Oblong made a loss in the last twelve months, 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. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

Oblong's revenue didn't grow at all in the last year. In fact, it fell 30%. That looks pretty grim, at a glance. Shareholders have seen the share price drop 30% in that time. That seems pretty reasonable given the lack of both profits and revenue growth. We think most holders must believe revenue growth will improve, or else costs will decline.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

earnings-and-revenue-growth

Take a more thorough look at Oblong's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

While Oblong shareholders are down 30% for the year, the market itself is up 36%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. It's worth noting that the last three months did the real damage, with a 34% decline. So it seems like some holders have been dumping the stock of late - and that's not bullish. 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. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Oblong (including 1 which is a bit unpleasant) .

We will like Oblong better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

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.

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