Optimistic Investors Push Kingsoft Corporation Limited (HKG:3888) Shares Up 36% But Growth Is Lacking

Kingsoft Corporation Limited (HKG:3888) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 36% gain and recovering from prior weakness. The bad news is that even after the stocks recovery in the last 30 days, shareholders are still underwater by about 2.1% over the last year.

Since its price has surged higher, given around half the companies in Hong Kong's Entertainment industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.6x, you may consider Kingsoft as a stock to avoid entirely with its 3.8x 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 Kingsoft

What Does Kingsoft's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Kingsoft could be doing better as it's been growing revenue less than most other companies lately. It might be that many expect the uninspiring revenue performance to recover significantly, which has kept the P/S ratio from collapsing. If not, then existing shareholders may be very nervous about the viability of the share price.

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Kingsoft will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

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

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Kingsoft would need to produce outstanding growth that's well in excess of the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 11% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 49% overall rise in revenue, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 15% each year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 69% per year growth forecast for the broader industry.

With this in consideration, we believe it doesn't make sense that Kingsoft's P/S is outpacing its industry peers. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as this level of revenue growth is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

What We Can Learn From Kingsoft's P/S?

Shares in Kingsoft have seen a strong upwards swing lately, which has really helped boost its P/S figure. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Despite analysts forecasting some poorer-than-industry revenue growth figures for Kingsoft, this doesn't appear to be impacting the P/S in the slightest. Right now we aren't comfortable with the high P/S as the predicted future revenues aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Kingsoft with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

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.