Did The Underlying Business Drive Ilika's (LON:IKA) Lovely 397% Share Price Gain?

Investing can be hard but the potential fo an individual stock to pay off big time inspires us. Not every pick can be a winner, but when you pick the right stock, you can win big. One bright shining star stock has been Ilika plc (LON:IKA), which is 397% higher than three years ago. But it's down 7.6% in the last week. However, this might be related to the overall market decline of 0.02% in a week.

Check out our latest analysis for Ilika

Given that Ilika didn't make a profit in the last twelve months, we'll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

In the last 3 years Ilika saw its revenue grow at 28% per year. That's much better than most loss-making companies. In light of this attractive revenue growth, it seems somewhat appropriate that the share price has been rocketing, boasting a gain of 71% per year, over the same period. Despite the strong run, top performers like Ilika have been known to go on winning for decades. In fact, it might be time to put it on your watchlist, if you're not already familiar with the stock.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

earnings-and-revenue-growth

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. You can see what analysts are predicting for Ilika in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Ilika shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 304% over one year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 7% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Ilika , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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 GB 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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