Investors one-year losses grow to 53% as the stock sheds US$34m this past week

The nature of investing is that you win some, and you lose some. And there's no doubt that Priority Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PRTH) stock has had a really bad year. The share price is down a hefty 53% in that time. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 27% in three years. Even worse, it's down 13% in about a month, which isn't fun at all. However, we note the price may have been impacted by the broader market, which is down 13% in the same time period.

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

View our latest analysis for Priority Technology Holdings

Priority Technology 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. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last twelve months, Priority Technology Holdings increased its revenue by 32%. We think that is pretty nice growth. Unfortunately it seems investors wanted more, because the share price is down 53% in that time. It may well be that the business remains approximately on track, but its revenue growth has simply been delayed. For us it's important to consider when you think a company will become profitable, if you're basing your valuation on revenue.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Priority Technology Holdings will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

A Different Perspective

The last twelve months weren't great for Priority Technology Holdings shares, which performed worse than the market, costing holders 53%. The market shed around 22%, no doubt weighing on the stock price. Shareholders have lost 8% per year over the last three years, so the share price drop has become steeper, over the last year; a potential symptom of as yet unsolved challenges. Although Baron Rothschild famously said to "buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own", he also focusses on high quality stocks with solid prospects. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Priority Technology Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Priority Technology Holdings (1 is significant) that you should be aware of.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session
You’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here