One simple way to benefit from the stock market is to buy an index fund. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more than that. Just take a look at Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALPN), which is up 96%, over three years, soundly beating the market return of 51% (not including dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 30% in the last year.

Since the stock has added US$31m to its market cap in the past week alone, let's see if underlying performance has been driving long-term returns.

View our latest analysis for Alpine Immune Sciences

Because Alpine Immune Sciences 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. 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.

Over the last three years Alpine Immune Sciences has grown its revenue at 108% annually. That's well above most pre-profit companies. While the compound gain of 25% per year over three years is pretty good, you might argue it doesn't fully reflect the strong revenue growth. So now might be the perfect time to put Alpine Immune Sciences on your radar. A window of opportunity may reveal itself with time, if the business can trend to profitability.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. If you are thinking of buying or selling Alpine Immune Sciences stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

A Different Perspective

Alpine Immune Sciences shareholders have gained 30% over twelve months. This isn't far from the market return of 32%. Most would be happy with a gain, and it helps that the year's return is actually better than the average return of 25% over the last three years, implying that the company is doing better recently. We're certainly happy to see the uptick and we hope the underlying business goes on to justify the improved valuation. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Alpine Immune Sciences better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Alpine Immune Sciences (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about.

Alpine Immune Sciences is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

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. 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.

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