Yahoo Finance Investors in Gelesis Holdings (NYSE:GLS) have unfortunately lost 89% over the last year
It's not a secret that every investor will make bad investments, from time to time. But it's not unreasonable to try to avoid truly shocking capital losses. So spare a thought for the long term shareholders of Gelesis Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:GLS); the share price is down a whopping 89% in the last twelve months. That'd be a striking reminder about the importance of diversification. Because Gelesis Holdings hasn't been listed for many years, the market is still learning about how the business performs. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 35% in the last three months. While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.
Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns.
Check out our latest analysis for Gelesis Holdings
Gelesis Holdings 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. 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.
Gelesis Holdings grew its revenue by 185% over the last year. That's a strong result which is better than most other loss making companies. So on the face of it we're really surprised to see the share price down 89% over twelve months. There's clearly something unusual going on here such as an acquisition that hasn't delivered expected profits. What is clear is that the market is not judging the company on its revenue growth right now. Of course, markets do over-react so share price drop may be too harsh.
The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
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. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts
A Different Perspective
We doubt Gelesis Holdings shareholders are happy with the loss of 89% over twelve months. That falls short of the market, which lost 19%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. The share price decline has continued throughout the most recent three months, down 35%, suggesting an absence of enthusiasm from investors. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. 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. Take risks, for example - Gelesis Holdings has 3 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.
There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
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.
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