What Yimikang Tech.Group Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:300249) 32% Share Price Gain Is Not Telling You

Yimikang Tech.Group Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300249) shareholders have had their patience rewarded with a 32% share price jump in the last month. While recent buyers may be laughing, long-term holders might not be as pleased since the recent gain only brings the stock back to where it started a year ago.

After such a large jump in price, given around half the companies in China's Consumer Durables industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.8x, you may consider Yimikang Tech.Group as a stock to avoid entirely with its 4.1x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/S.

See our latest analysis for Yimikang Tech.Group

What Does Yimikang Tech.Group's Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Yimikang Tech.Group as its revenue has been rising very briskly. It seems that many are expecting the strong revenue performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

Want the full picture on earnings, revenue and cash flow for the company? Then our free report on Yimikang Tech.Group will help you shine a light on its historical performance.

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

Yimikang Tech.Group's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 34% last year. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year revenue frustratingly shrank by 31% overall. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenues over that time.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 9.2% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's alarming that Yimikang Tech.Group's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

What We Can Learn From Yimikang Tech.Group's P/S?

Yimikang Tech.Group's P/S has grown nicely over the last month thanks to a handy boost in the share price. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Yimikang Tech.Group currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its recent revenues have been in decline over the medium-term. When we see revenue heading backwards and underperforming the industry forecasts, we feel the possibility of the share price declining is very real, bringing the P/S back into the realm of reasonability. Unless the the circumstances surrounding the recent medium-term improve, it wouldn't be wrong to expect a a difficult period ahead for the company's shareholders.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Yimikang Tech.Group (1 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.