Investors in Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX) have made a enviable return of 729% over the past three years

Investing can be hard but the potential fo an individual stock to pay off big time inspires us. Mistakes are inevitable, but a single top stock pick can cover any losses, and so much more. One bright shining star stock has been Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLDX), which is 729% higher than three years ago. On top of that, the share price is up 92% in about a quarter. It really delights us to see such great share price performance for investors.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

See our latest analysis for Celldex Therapeutics

Celldex Therapeutics isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. 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 3 years Celldex Therapeutics saw its revenue shrink by 25% per year. So it's pretty amazing to see the stock price has zoomed up 102% per year in that time. This clear lack of correlation between revenue and share price is surprising to see in a money losing company. At the risk of upsetting holders, this does suggest that hope for a better future is playing a significant role in the share price action.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

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. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Celldex Therapeutics shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 339% over one year. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 0.9% per year over five years. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Celldex Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Celldex Therapeutics (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

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

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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