The most you can lose on any stock (assuming you don't use leverage) is 100% of your money. But when you pick a company that is really flourishing, you can make more than 100%. For example, the Volution Group plc (LON:FAN) share price had more than doubled in just one year - up 148%. It's also good to see the share price up 32% over the last quarter. This could be related to the recent financial results, released recently - you can catch up on the most recent data by reading our company report. And shareholders have also done well over the long term, with an increase of 85% in the last three years.

View our latest analysis for Volution Group

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Over the last twelve months, Volution Group actually shrank its EPS by 46%.

So we don't think that investors are paying too much attention to EPS. Indeed, when EPS is declining but the share price is up, it often means the market is considering other factors.

We doubt the modest 1.0% dividend yield is doing much to support the share price. Volution Group's revenue actually dropped 4.1% over last year. So the fundamental metrics don't provide an obvious explanation for the share price gain.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

If you are thinking of buying or selling Volution Group stock, you should check out this FREE detailed report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Volution Group has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 148% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 21% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks, for example - Volution Group has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).