If you buy and hold a stock for many years, you'd hope to be making a profit. Better yet, you'd like to see the share price move up more than the market average. But 180 Degree Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:TURN) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 31% over five years, which is below the market return. Zooming in, the stock is actually down 20% in the last year.

So let's assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 5 years and see if they've moved in lock-step with shareholder returns.

View our latest analysis for 180 Degree Capital

180 Degree Capital isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last 5 years 180 Degree Capital saw its revenue grow at 24% per year. Even measured against other revenue-focussed companies, that's a good result. While long-term shareholders have made money, the 6% per year gain over five years fall short of the market return. You could argue the market is still pretty skeptical, given the growing revenues. It could be that the stock was previously over-priced - but if you're looking for underappreciated growth stocks, these numbers indicate that there might be an opportunity here.

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. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. This free interactive report on 180 Degree Capital's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that 180 Degree Capital shareholders are down 20% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 12%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 6%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. 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. Even so, be aware that 180 Degree Capital is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit concerning...

180 Degree Capital is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider 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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