Optimistic Investors Push Shenzhen Success Electronics Co., Ltd (SZSE:002289) Shares Up 25% But Growth Is Lacking

Shenzhen Success Electronics Co., Ltd (SZSE:002289) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 25% gain in the last month alone. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 34% over that time.

Following the firm bounce in price, Shenzhen Success Electronics' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 6.9x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to other companies in the Electronic industry in China, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios below 4.4x and even P/S below 2x are quite common. 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.

View our latest analysis for Shenzhen Success Electronics

How Shenzhen Success Electronics Has Been Performing

Shenzhen Success Electronics has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue at a solid pace. It might be that many expect the respectable revenue performance to beat most other companies over the coming period, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

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

How Is Shenzhen Success Electronics' Revenue Growth Trending?

Shenzhen Success Electronics' 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.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 8.1%. Still, lamentably revenue has fallen 7.1% in aggregate from three years ago, which is disappointing. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 27% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

With this information, we find it concerning that Shenzhen Success Electronics is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. 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 heavily on the share price eventually.

The Final Word

Shenzhen Success Electronics' P/S has grown nicely over the last month thanks to a handy boost in the share price. It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Shenzhen Success Electronics 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. Should recent medium-term revenue trends persist, it would pose a significant risk to existing shareholders' investments and prospective investors will have a hard time accepting the current value of the stock.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Shenzhen Success Electronics that you should be aware of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.