Long term investing is the way to go, but that doesn't mean you should hold every stock forever. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. For example, we sympathize with anyone who was caught holding Jinxin Fertility Group Limited (HKG:1951) during the five years that saw its share price drop a whopping 73%.

Since Jinxin Fertility Group has shed HK$467m from its value in the past 7 days, let's see if the longer term decline has been driven by the business' economics.

View our latest analysis for Jinxin Fertility Group

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During the five years over which the share price declined, Jinxin Fertility Group's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 4.6% each year. This reduction in EPS is less than the 23% annual reduction in the share price. This implies that the market is more cautious about the business these days.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

We know that Jinxin Fertility Group has improved its bottom line lately, but is it going to grow revenue? You could check out this free report showing analyst revenue forecasts.

A Different Perspective

Jinxin Fertility Group provided a TSR of 12% over the last twelve months. 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 11% endured over half a decade. It could well be that the business is stabilizing. Before deciding if you like the current share price, check how Jinxin Fertility Group scores on these 3 valuation metrics.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of undervalued 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 Hong Kong exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.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.