Austar Lifesciences Limited's (HKG:6118) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the Life Sciences industry in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 4.6x and even P/S above 7x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/S.
View our latest analysis for Austar Lifesciences
What Does Austar Lifesciences' P/S Mean For Shareholders?
As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Austar Lifesciences over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think the company won't do enough to avoid underperforming the broader industry in the near future. Those who are bullish on Austar Lifesciences will be hoping that this isn't the case so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.
We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Austar Lifesciences' earnings, revenue and cash flow.What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?
Austar Lifesciences' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling revenue, and importantly, perform much worse than the industry.
Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 22%. This means it has also seen a slide in revenue over the longer-term as revenue is down 5.4% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.
In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 32% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.
With this in mind, we understand why Austar Lifesciences' P/S is lower than most of its industry peers. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent revenue trends are already weighing down the shares.
What We Can Learn From Austar Lifesciences' P/S?
It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.
It's no surprise that Austar Lifesciences maintains its low P/S off the back of its sliding revenue over the medium-term. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises either. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.
You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 2 warning signs for Austar Lifesciences you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.
If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).
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