Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH) Shareholders Have Enjoyed A Magnificent 1765% Share Price Gain

For us, stock picking is in large part the hunt for the truly magnificent stocks. Not every pick can be a winner, but when you pick the right stock, you can win big. One such superstar is Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH), which saw its share price soar 1765% in three years. It's also good to see the share price up 120% over the last quarter. The company reported its financial results recently; you can catch up on the latest numbers by reading our company report.

It really delights us to see such great share price performance for investors.

Check out our latest analysis for Enphase Energy

While Enphase Energy made a small profit, in the last year, we think that the market is probably more focussed on the top line growth at the moment. Generally speaking, we'd consider a stock like this alongside loss-making companies, simply because the quantum of the profit is so low. For shareholders to have confidence a company will grow profits significantly, it must grow revenue.

Enphase Energy's revenue trended up 5.1% each year over three years. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. So we're surprised that the share price has soared by 165% each year over that time. We'll tip our hats to that, any day, but the top-line growth isn't particularly impressive when you compare it to other pre-profit companies. The company will need to continue to execute on its business strategy to justify this rise.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

NasdaqGM:ENPH Income Statement, August 23rd 2019
NasdaqGM:ENPH Income Statement, August 23rd 2019

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. 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

It's good to see that Enphase Energy has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 587% in the last twelve months. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 19% 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. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You can click here to see who has been buying shares - and the price they paid.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.