Passive investing in index funds can generate returns that roughly match the overall market. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. For example, the AC Immune SA (NASDAQ:ACIU) share price is up 57% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market return of around 26% (not including dividends). So that should have shareholders smiling. In contrast, the longer term returns are negative, since the share price is 50% lower than it was three years ago.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

Given that AC Immune 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. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally hope to see good revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

AC Immune grew its revenue by 276% last year. That's stonking growth even when compared to other loss-making stocks. The solid 57% share price gain goes down pretty well, but it's not necessarily as good as you might expect given the top notch revenue growth. So quite frankly it could be a good time to investigate AC Immune in some detail. Since we evolved from monkeys, we think in linear terms by nature. So if growth goes exponential, opportunity may exist for the enlightened.

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

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

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that AC Immune shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 57% over one year. There's no doubt those recent returns are much better than the TSR loss of 6% per year over five years. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. 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 3 warning signs for AC Immune that you should be aware of.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

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

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.