What Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic Co., Ltd.'s (SZSE:300553) 29% Share Price Gain Is Not Telling You

Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300553) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 29% after a shaky period beforehand. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 73% in the last year.

Following the firm bounce in price, Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 10.9x 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 4.2x 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.

See our latest analysis for Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic

How Has Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic Performed Recently?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic over the last year, which is not ideal at all. Perhaps the market believes the company can do enough to outperform the rest of the industry in the near future, which is keeping the P/S ratio high. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

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

How Is Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic's Revenue Growth Trending?

Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic'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, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 15%. Regardless, revenue has managed to lift by a handy 14% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the revenue growth recently has been mostly respectable for the company.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 26% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker, based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this in mind, we find it worrying that Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic's P/S exceeds that of its industry peers. 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. 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.

The Key Takeaway

Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic's P/S has grown nicely over the last month thanks to a handy boost in the share price. 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.

The fact that Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic currently trades on a higher P/S relative to the industry is an oddity, since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider industry forecast. 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. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these the share price as being reasonable.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 3 warning signs for Hangzhou Jizhi Mechatronic that you need to be mindful of.

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).

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.