The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But in contrast you can make much more than 100% if the company does well. To wit, the Artivion, Inc. (NYSE:AORT) share price has flown 236% in the last three years. Most would be happy with that. The last week saw the share price soften some 3.8%.

Since the long term performance has been good but there's been a recent pullback of 3.8%, let's check if the fundamentals match the share price.

Because Artivion made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

Over the last three years Artivion has grown its revenue at 10% annually. That's a very respectable growth rate. Broadly speaking, this solid progress may well be reflected by the healthy share price gain of 50% per year over three years. It's hard to value pre-profit businesses, but it seems like the market has become a lot more optimistic about this one! It would be worth thinking about when profits will flow, since that milestone will attract more attention.

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

Balance sheet strength is crucial.

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Artivion shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 46% over one year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 12% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. 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. Consider risks, for instance.

Of course Artivion may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

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