The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. When you buy individual stocks, you can make higher profits, but you also face the risk of under-performance. Unfortunately the Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002880) share price slid 31% over twelve months. That's well below the market decline of 19%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 24% in three years. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 16% in the last 90 days. But this could be related to the weak market, which is down 12% in the same period.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Even though the Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products share price is down over the year, its EPS actually improved. Of course, the situation might betray previous over-optimism about growth.

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.

With a low yield of 1.7% we doubt that the dividend influences the share price much. Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products' revenue is actually up 44% 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.

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

We know that Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products has improved its bottom line lately, but what does the future have in store? So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products shareholders are down 31% for the year (even including dividends). Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 19%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 1.1%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. 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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Shenzhen Weiguang Biological Products that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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