We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. We really hate to see fellow investors lose their hard-earned money. Spare a thought for those who held New Provenance Everlasting Holdings Limited (HKG:2326) for five whole years - as the share price tanked 99%. And it's not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 61% in the last year. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 40% in the last three months.

While a drop like that is definitely a body blow, money isn't as important as health and happiness.

View our latest analysis for New Provenance Everlasting Holdings

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

Over five years New Provenance Everlasting Holdings's earnings per share dropped significantly, falling to a loss, with the share price also lower. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. However, we can say we'd expect to see a falling share price in this scenario.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on New Provenance Everlasting Holdings's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 7.6% in the twelve months, New Provenance Everlasting Holdings shareholders did even worse, losing 61%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 58% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand New Provenance Everlasting Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with New Provenance Everlasting Holdings (at least 1 which is concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.