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Further weakness as Alight (NYSE:ALIT) drops 6.8% this week, taking one-year losses to 39%

Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. Investors in Alight, Inc. (NYSE:ALIT) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 39%. That contrasts poorly with the market decline of 22%. Alight hasn't been listed for long, so although we're wary of recent listings that perform poorly, it may still prove itself with time. Unfortunately the share price momentum is still quite negative, with prices down 14% in thirty days. However, we note the price may have been impacted by the broader market, which is down 13% in the same time period.

Since Alight has shed US$242m from its value in the past 7 days, let's see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business' economics.

View our latest analysis for Alight

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Alight managed to increase earnings per share from a loss to a profit, over the last 12 months.

It's good to see it turn a profit, but we note it was reasonably close to profitability last year. And judging by the share price, the market is not too happy about it, either. Given the improvement, though, contrarian investors might want to take a closer look.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

earnings-per-share-growth
earnings-per-share-growth

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. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

A Different Perspective

Alight shareholders are down 39% for the year, even worse than the market loss of 22%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. With the stock down 5.2% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Basically, most investors should be wary of buying into a poor-performing stock, unless the business itself has clearly improved. 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. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Alight (including 2 which are potentially serious) .

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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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