These days it's easy to simply buy an index fund, and your returns should (roughly) match the market. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more than that. To wit, the Autolus Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:AUTL) share price is 76% higher than it was a year ago, much better than the market return of around 32% (not including dividends) in the same period. So that should have shareholders smiling. Zooming out, the stock is actually down 32% in the last three years.

Since it's been a strong week for Autolus Therapeutics shareholders, let's have a look at trend of the longer term fundamentals.

Because Autolus Therapeutics made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. 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.

Autolus Therapeutics grew its revenue by 40% last year. We respect that sort of growth, no doubt. Buyers pushed the share price 76% in response, which isn't unreasonable. If revenue stays on trend, there may be plenty more share price gains to come. But before deciding this growth stock is underappreciated, you might want to check out profitability trends (and cash flow)

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

It's good to see that Autolus Therapeutics has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 76% in the last twelve months. That certainly beats the loss of about 11% per year over the last half decade. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Autolus Therapeutics you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.

But note: Autolus Therapeutics 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 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.