When you buy shares in a company, there is always a risk that the price drops to zero. But if you pick the right stock, you can make a lot more than 100%. For example, the Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ:CMTL) share price had more than doubled in just one year – up 175%. On top of that, the share price is up 103% in about a quarter. Zooming out, the stock is actually down 65% in the last three years.

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.

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Given that Comtech Telecommunications didn’t make a profit in the last twelve months, we’ll focus on revenue growth to form a quick view of its business development. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That’s because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last year Comtech Telecommunications saw its revenue shrink by 1.9%. We’re a little surprised to see the share price pop 175% in the last year. This is a good example of how buyers can push up prices even before the fundamental metrics show much growth. Of course, it could be that the market expected this revenue drop.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on Comtech Telecommunications’ balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

We’re pleased to report that Comtech Telecommunications shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 175% over one year. There’s no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 12% per year over five years. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. 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 2 warning signs for Comtech Telecommunications that you should be aware of.

We will like Comtech Telecommunications 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.