Innovative Medical Management Co.,Ltd.'s (SZSE:002173) 30% Share Price Surge Not Quite Adding Up

Innovative Medical Management Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002173) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 30% after a shaky period beforehand. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 42% in the last year.

Following the firm bounce in price, when almost half of the companies in China's Healthcare industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.9x, you may consider Innovative Medical ManagementLtd as a stock not worth researching with its 5.7x P/S ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

See our latest analysis for Innovative Medical ManagementLtd

How Innovative Medical ManagementLtd Has Been Performing

Revenue has risen firmly for Innovative Medical ManagementLtd recently, which is pleasing to see. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is high because investors think this respectable revenue growth will be enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Innovative Medical ManagementLtd, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

Innovative Medical ManagementLtd'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 managed to grow revenues by a handy 8.1% last year. The latest three year period has also seen a 15% overall rise in revenue, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has actually done a good job of growing revenue over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 18% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's alarming that Innovative Medical ManagementLtd's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

What Does Innovative Medical ManagementLtd's P/S Mean For Investors?

Shares in Innovative Medical ManagementLtd have seen a strong upwards swing lately, which has really helped boost its P/S figure. 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.

Our examination of Innovative Medical ManagementLtd revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't detracting from the P/S as much as we though, given they look worse than current industry expectations. When we see slower than industry revenue growth but an elevated P/S, there's considerable risk of the share price declining, sending the P/S lower. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Innovative Medical ManagementLtd with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Innovative Medical ManagementLtd, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.