The last three months have been tough on Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300049) shareholders, who have seen the share price decline a rather worrying 31%. But that does not change the realty that the stock's performance has been terrific, over five years. To be precise, the stock price is 354% higher than it was five years ago, a wonderful performance by any measure. So it might be that some shareholders are taking profits after good performance. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price.

Although Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science has shed CN¥420m from its market cap this week, let's take a look at its longer term fundamental trends and see if they've driven returns.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Over half a decade, Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science managed to grow its earnings per share at 108% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 35% over the same period. Therefore, it seems the market has become relatively pessimistic about the company. Having said that, the market is still optimistic, given the P/E ratio of 69.81.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

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. This free interactive report on Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Its history of dividend payouts mean that Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science's TSR of 358% over the last 5 years is better than the share price return.

A Different Perspective

While it's never nice to take a loss, Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science shareholders can take comfort that their trailing twelve month loss of 7.4% wasn't as bad as the market loss of around 19%. Of course, the long term returns are far more important and the good news is that over five years, the stock has returned 36% for each year. It could be that the business is just facing some short term problems, but shareholders should keep a close eye on the fundamentals. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science scores on these 3 valuation metrics.

We will like Inner Mongolia Furui Medical Science better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued stocks (mostly small caps) with considerable, recent, insider buying.

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.