Investing in Evolent Health (NYSE:EVH) a year ago would have delivered you a 175% gain

The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For example, the Evolent Health, Inc. (NYSE:EVH) share price had more than doubled in just one year - up 175%. It's also good to see the share price up 38% over the last quarter. And shareholders have also done well over the long term, with an increase of 40% in the last three years.

So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for Evolent Health

Because Evolent Health 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 it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

Evolent Health grew its revenue by 14% last year. That's a fairly respectable growth rate. The revenue growth is decent but the share price had an even better year, gaining 175%. If the profitability is on the horizon then now could be a very exciting time to be a shareholder. But investors need to be wary of how the 'fear of missing out' could influence them to buy without doing thorough research.

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

If you are thinking of buying or selling Evolent Health stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Evolent Health shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 175% 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. Even so, be aware that Evolent Health is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.

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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