It might be of some concern to shareholders to see the nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) share price down 21% in the last month. But that fact in itself shouldn't obscure what are quite decent returns over the last year. After all, the stock has performed better than the market's return of (55%) over the last year, and is up 56%.

Check out our latest analysis for nLIGHT

nLIGHT 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. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last year nLIGHT saw its revenue grow by 26%. We respect that sort of growth, no doubt. While the share price performed well, gaining 56% over twelve months, you could argue the revenue growth warranted it. If revenue stays on trend, there may be plenty more share price gains to come. But before deciding this growth stock is underappreciated, you might want to check out profitability trends (and cash flow)

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

nLIGHT is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think nLIGHT will earn in the future (free analyst consensus estimates)

A Different Perspective

While the market return was 55% in the last year, nLIGHT returned 56% to shareholders. Given the three-year TSR of 4% per year, shareholders probably aren't too concerned by the recent gain! It could well be that the business is getting back on track. 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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for nLIGHT that you should be aware of before investing here.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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. 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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