The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. But if you buy individual stocks, you can do both better or worse than that. For example, the China Isotope & Radiation Corporation (HKG:1763) share price is down 40% in the last year. That contrasts poorly with the market decline of 17%. On the other hand, the stock is actually up 3.3% over three years. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 13% in the last three months.

On a more encouraging note the company has added CN¥409m to its market cap in just the last 7 days, so let's see if we can determine what's driven the one-year loss for shareholders.

Check out our latest analysis for China Isotope & Radiation

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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.

Even though the China Isotope & Radiation share price is down over the year, its EPS actually improved. It's quite possible that growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.

The divergence between the EPS and the share price is quite notable, during the year. So it's easy to justify a look at some other metrics.

China Isotope & Radiation's revenue is actually up 20% over the last year. Since we can't easily explain the share price movement based on these metrics, it might be worth considering how market sentiment has changed towards 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).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think China Isotope & Radiation will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

A Different Perspective

The last twelve months weren't great for China Isotope & Radiation shares, which performed worse than the market, costing holders 39%, including dividends. Meanwhile, the broader market slid about 17%, likely weighing on the stock. Fortunately the longer term story is brighter, with total returns averaging about 2.3% per year over three years. The recent sell-off could be an opportunity if the business remains sound, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long-term growth trend. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You can click here to see who has been buying shares - and the price they paid.

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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

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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.