Yahoo Finance Did Changing Sentiment Drive ARC Document Solutions's (NYSE:ARC) Share Price Down A Worrying 65%?
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Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But along the way some stocks are going to perform badly. For example, after five long years the ARC Document Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:ARC) share price is a whole 65% lower. That's an unpleasant experience for long term holders. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 20% in the last 90 days.
View our latest analysis for ARC Document Solutions
In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.
During five years of share price growth, ARC Document Solutions moved from a loss to profitability. Most would consider that to be a good thing, so it's counter-intuitive to see the share price declining. Other metrics may better explain the share price move.
The revenue decline of 1.5% isn't too bad. But if the market expected durable top line growth, then that could explain the share price weakness.
The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..
A Different Perspective
Investors in ARC Document Solutions had a tough year, with a total loss of 7.6%, against a market gain of about 6.4%. 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. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 19% doled out over the last five years. We'd need to see some sustained improvements in the key metrics before we could muster much enthusiasm. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest you check here to see what price insiders were buying at.
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.
