It hasn't been the best quarter for Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBIO) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 23% in that time. Taking a longer term view we see the stock is up over one year. But to be blunt its return of 25% fall short of what you could have got from an index fund (around 33%).

Now it's worth having a look at the company's fundamentals too, because that will help us determine if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

Check out our latest analysis for Harvard Bioscience

Harvard Bioscience isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last year Harvard Bioscience saw its revenue shrink by 1.0%. Given the revenue reduction the modest 25% share price rise over the year seems pretty decent. We'd want to see progress to profitability before getting too interested in this stock.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Harvard Bioscience

A Different Perspective

Harvard Bioscience shareholders are up 25% for the year. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it is certainly better than the yearly loss of about 0.2% endured over half a decade. So this might be a sign the business has turned its fortunes around. 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 instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Harvard Bioscience that you should be aware of.

Harvard Bioscience is not the only stock that insiders are buying. 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.