Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:YMAB) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2.2x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the Biotechs industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 9.8x and even P/S above 51x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.
View our latest analysis for Y-mAbs Therapeutics
With revenue growth that's inferior to most other companies of late, Y-mAbs Therapeutics has been relatively sluggish. It seems that many are expecting the uninspiring revenue performance to persist, which has repressed the growth of the P/S ratio. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping revenue doesn't get any worse and that you could pick up some stock while it's out of favour.
Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Y-mAbs Therapeutics will help you uncover what's on the horizon.The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as depressed as Y-mAbs Therapeutics' is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry decidedly.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 3.4% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 151% overall rise in revenue, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenues over that time.
Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 8.5% per annum during the coming three years according to the ten analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 173% per year growth forecast for the broader industry.
With this information, we can see why Y-mAbs Therapeutics is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.
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.
We've established that Y-mAbs Therapeutics maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast growth being lower than the wider industry, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Unless these 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 3 warning signs for Y-mAbs Therapeutics you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.
If you're unsure about the strength of Y-mAbs Therapeutics' business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.
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