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By buying an index fund, investors can approximate the average market return. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more than that. For example, the Hansa Resources Limited (CVE:HRL) share price is up 75% in the last three years, clearly besting than the market return of around 13% (not including dividends).
Check out our latest analysis for Hansa Resources
With zero revenue generated over twelve months, we don't think that Hansa Resources has proved its business plan yet. So it seems that the investors focused more on what could be, than paying attention to the current revenues (or lack thereof). It seems likely some shareholders believe that Hansa Resources will find or develop a valuable new mine before too long.
As a general rule, if a company doesn't have much revenue, and it loses money, then it is a high risk investment. You should be aware that there is always a chance that this sort of company will need to issue more shares to raise money to continue pursuing its business plan. While some such companies do very well over the long term, others become hyped up by promoters before eventually falling back down to earth, and going bankrupt (or being recapitalized). Of course, if you time it right, high risk investments like this can really pay off, as Hansa Resources investors might know.
When it last reported its balance sheet in March 2019, Hansa Resources had cash in excess of all liabilities of CA$511k. That's not too bad but management may have to think about raising capital or taking on debt, unless the company is close to breaking even. With the share price up 21% per year, over 3 years, the market is seems hopeful about the potential, despite the cash burn. You can see in the image below, how Hansa Resources's cash levels have changed over time (click to see the values).
Of course, the truth is that it is hard to value companies without much revenue or profit. One thing you can do is check if company insiders are buying shares. If they are buying a significant amount of shares, that's certainly a good thing. You can click here to see if there are insiders buying.
A Different Perspective
Investors in Hansa Resources had a tough year, with a total loss of 42%, against a market gain of about 1.2%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 3.1% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. Shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.