Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300381) Looks Inexpensive But Perhaps Not Attractive Enough

You may think that with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 3.7x Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300381) is a stock worth checking out, seeing as almost half of all the Biotechs companies in China have P/S ratios greater than 6x and even P/S higher than 11x aren't out of the ordinary. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Check out our latest analysis for Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech

What Does Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech's Recent Performance Look Like?

For example, consider that Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech's financial performance has been pretty ordinary lately as revenue growth is non-existent. It might be that many expect the uninspiring revenue performance to worsen, which has repressed the P/S. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

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 Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's top line as the year before. Whilst it's an improvement, it wasn't enough to get the company out of the hole it was in, with revenue down 57% overall from three years ago. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Weighing that medium-term revenue trajectory against the broader industry's one-year forecast for expansion of 224% shows it's an unpleasant look.

With this information, we are not surprised that Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent revenue trends are already weighing down the shares.

What Does Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech's P/S Mean For Investors?

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

It's no surprise that Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech maintains its low P/S off the back of its sliding revenue over the medium-term. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Given the current circumstances, it seems unlikely that the share price will experience any significant movement in either direction in the near future if recent medium-term revenue trends persist.

It is also worth noting that we have found 4 warning signs for Guangdong VTR Bio-Tech (2 make us uncomfortable!) that you need to take into consideration.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.