As every investor would know, you don't hit a homerun every time you swing. But it should be a priority to avoid stomach churning catastrophes, wherever possible. So we hope that those who held Bioxyne Limited (ASX:BXN) during the last year don't lose the lesson, in addition to the 70% hit to the value of their shares. That'd be enough to make even the strongest stomachs churn. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 23% in three years. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 20% in the last three months.

See our latest analysis for Bioxyne

Bioxyne 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.

Bioxyne grew its revenue by 56% over the last year. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. So the hefty 70% share price crash makes us think the company has somehow offended market participants. There's clearly something unusual going on here such as an acquisition that hasn't delivered expected profits. What is clear is that the market is not judging the company on its revenue growth right now. Of course, investors do over-react when they are stressed out, so the sell-off could be unjustifiably severe.

Depicted in the graphic below, you'll see revenue and earnings over time. If you want more detail, you can click on the chart itself.

This free interactive report on Bioxyne's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Bioxyne's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Bioxyne hasn't been paying dividends, but its TSR of -70% exceeds its share price return of -70%, implying it has either spun-off a business, or raised capital at a discount; thereby providing additional value to shareholders.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Bioxyne had a tough year, with a total loss of 70%, against a market gain of about 12%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 9.7% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. Before spending more time on Bioxyne it might be wise to click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling shares.

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 AU 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.