Fewer Investors Than Expected Jumping On Palred Technologies Limited (NSE:PALREDTEC)

Palred Technologies Limited's (NSE:PALREDTEC) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.2x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the IT industry in India, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 3.1x and even P/S above 9x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

View our latest analysis for Palred Technologies

What Does Palred Technologies' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Palred Technologies 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 degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/S. If that doesn't eventuate, then existing shareholders have reason to be optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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

How Is Palred Technologies' Revenue Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as low as Palred Technologies' is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 16% gain to the company's top line. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 225% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 8.6% over the next year, materially lower than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Palred Technologies' P/S sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

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 Palred Technologies revealed its three-year revenue trends aren't boosting its P/S anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look better than current industry expectations. Potential investors that are sceptical over continued revenue performance may be preventing the P/S ratio from matching previous strong performance. It appears many are indeed anticipating revenue instability, because the persistence of these recent medium-term conditions would normally provide a boost to the share price.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Palred Technologies you should know about.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.