The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. On the other hand, if you find a high quality business to buy (at the right price) you can more than double your money! For example, the ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (NASDAQ:IPA) share price has soared 143% in the last 1 year. Most would be very happy with that, especially in just one year! It's up an even more impressive 356% over the last quarter. Unfortunately the longer term returns are not so good, with the stock falling 55% in the last three years.

Since the stock has added US$12m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

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Because ImmunoPrecise Antibodies made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. 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 ImmunoPrecise Antibodies saw its revenue grow by 1.3%. That's not a very high growth rate considering it doesn't make profits. In contrast, the share price took off during the year, gaining 143%. We're happy that investors have made money, though we wonder if the increase will be sustained. It's quite likely that the market is considering other factors, not just revenue growth.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that ImmunoPrecise Antibodies has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 143% in the last twelve months. That certainly beats the loss of about 11% per year over the last half decade. We generally put more weight on the long term performance over the short term, but the recent improvement could hint at a (positive) inflection point within the business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand ImmunoPrecise Antibodies better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for ImmunoPrecise Antibodies you should be aware of, and 2 of them are significant.

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