Investors Give Fidia S.p.A. (BIT:FDA) Shares A 34% Hiding

To the annoyance of some shareholders, Fidia S.p.A. (BIT:FDA) shares are down a considerable 34% in the last month, which continues a horrid run for the company. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 92% share price decline.

After such a large drop in price, it would be understandable if you think Fidia is a stock with good investment prospects with a price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") of 0.1x, considering almost half the companies in Italy's Machinery industry have P/S ratios above 0.7x. 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 Fidia

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

The revenue growth achieved at Fidia over the last year would be more than acceptable for most companies. It might be that many expect the respectable revenue performance to degrade substantially, 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.

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

How Is Fidia's Revenue Growth Trending?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Fidia's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 17% gain to the company's top line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 33% overall rise in revenue, aided by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Comparing that to the industry, which is only predicted to deliver 2.1% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

In light of this, it's peculiar that Fidia's 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.

What Does Fidia's P/S Mean For Investors?

Fidia's P/S has taken a dip along with its 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.

Our examination of Fidia 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. When we see strong revenue with faster-than-industry growth, we assume there are some significant underlying risks to the company's ability to make money which is applying downwards pressure on the P/S ratio. 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.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Fidia that you should be aware 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.