Risks Still Elevated At These Prices As Martello Technologies Group Inc. (CVE:MTLO) Shares Dive 33%

Martello Technologies Group Inc. (CVE:MTLO) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 33% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 50% loss during that time.

Although its price has dipped substantially, it's still not a stretch to say that Martello Technologies Group's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the IT industry in Canada, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.5x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

View our latest analysis for Martello Technologies Group

What Does Martello Technologies Group's Recent Performance Look Like?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Martello Technologies Group over the last year, which is not ideal at all. Perhaps investors believe the recent revenue performance is enough to keep in line with the industry, which is keeping the P/S from dropping off. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

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 Martello Technologies Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The P/S?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Martello Technologies Group would need to produce growth that's similar to the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 5.2% decrease to the company's top line. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 15% in aggregate. 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 11% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this in mind, we find it worrying that Martello Technologies Group's P/S exceeds that of its industry peers. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh on the share price eventually.

The Bottom Line On Martello Technologies Group's P/S

Martello Technologies Group's plummeting stock price has brought its P/S back to a similar region as the rest of the industry. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Our look at Martello Technologies Group revealed its shrinking revenues over the medium-term haven't impacted the P/S as much as we anticipated, given the industry is set to grow. When we see revenue heading backwards in the context of growing industry forecasts, it'd make sense to expect a possible share price decline on the horizon, sending the moderate P/S lower. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 5 warning signs for Martello Technologies Group (4 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of.

Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.