If you love investing in stocks you're bound to buy some losers. Long term Revance Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVNC) shareholders know that all too well, since the share price is down considerably over three years. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 69% drop in the share price over that period. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 66% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 65% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

With the stock having lost 8.7% in the past week, it's worth taking a look at business performance and seeing if there's any red flags.

Check out our latest analysis for Revance Therapeutics

Revance Therapeutics wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over three years, Revance Therapeutics grew revenue at 77% per year. That is faster than most pre-profit companies. The share price has moved in quite the opposite direction, down 19% over that time, a bad result. This could mean hype has come out of the stock because the losses are concerning investors. But a share price drop of that magnitude could well signal that the market is overly negative on the stock.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Revance Therapeutics is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

A Different Perspective

Revance Therapeutics shareholders are down 66% for the year, but the market itself is up 8.7%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 11% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Revance Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Revance Therapeutics you should know about.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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