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Announcing: Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Stock Soared An Exciting 327% In The Last Five Years

For many, the main point of investing in the stock market is to achieve spectacular returns. While not every stock performs well, when investors win, they can win big. For example, the Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) share price is up a whopping 327% in the last half decade, a handsome return for long term holders. And this is just one example of the epic gains achieved by some long term investors. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 33% gain in the last three months. But this move may well have been assisted by the reasonably buoyant market (up 20% in 90 days).

View our latest analysis for Pegasystems

Given that Pegasystems 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. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

In the last 5 years Pegasystems saw its revenue grow at 7.5% per year. That's a pretty good long term growth rate. However, the share price gain of 34% during the period is considerably stronger. It might not be cheap but a (long-term) growth stock like this is usually well worth taking a closer look at.

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

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

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

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Pegasystems, it has a TSR of 332% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Pegasystems shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 59% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 34% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Pegasystems better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Pegasystems has 3 warning signs (and 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) we think you should know about.

But note: Pegasystems may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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