Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But unfortunately, some companies simply don't succeed. For example, after five long years the Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE) share price is a whole 51% lower. That's an unpleasant experience for long term holders. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 23% over the last twelve months. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 36% in the last three months. This could be related to the recent financial results – you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report.

If the past week is anything to go by, investor sentiment for Coeur Mining isn't positive, so let's see if there's a mismatch between fundamentals and the share price.

View our latest analysis for Coeur Mining

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace…' 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.

During five years of share price growth, Coeur Mining moved from a loss to profitability. Most would consider that to be a good thing, so it's counter-intuitive to see the share price declining. Other metrics might give us a better handle on how its value is changing over time.

In contrast to the share price, revenue has actually increased by 5.7% a year in the five year period. So it seems one might have to take closer look at the fundamentals to understand why the share price languishes. After all, there may be an opportunity.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. You can see what analysts are predicting for Coeur Mining in this interactive graph of future profit estimates.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 33% in the last year, Coeur Mining shareholders lost 23%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 9% per year over five years. 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. 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 4 warning signs for Coeur Mining that you should be aware of before investing here.

Coeur Mining is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

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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