BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE:BKSY) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 38% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 74% in the last year.
After such a large jump in price, given around half the companies in the United States' Professional Services industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.3x, you may consider BlackSky Technology as a stock to avoid entirely with its 6.4x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
View our latest analysis for BlackSky Technology
BlackSky Technology hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining revenue compares poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth in their revenues on average. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is high because investors think this poor revenue performance will turn the corner. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.
Keen to find out how analysts think BlackSky Technology's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the industry for P/S ratios like BlackSky Technology's to be considered reasonable.
In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 5.1%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 77% overall rise in revenue, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the revenue growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the nine analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 31% each year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 6.5% per year growth forecast for the broader industry.
With this information, we can see why BlackSky Technology is trading at such a high P/S compared to the industry. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.
BlackSky Technology's P/S has grown nicely over the last month thanks to a handy boost in the share price. While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.
As we suspected, our examination of BlackSky Technology's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior revenue outlook is contributing to its high P/S. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/S as they are quite confident future revenues aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.
Having said that, be aware BlackSky Technology is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.
If you're unsure about the strength of BlackSky Technology's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.