Further Upside For Ray Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:228670) Shares Could Introduce Price Risks After 35% Bounce
Ray Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:228670) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 35% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 32% over that time.
Even after such a large jump in price, Ray's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.8x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the Medical Equipment industry in Korea, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 2.3x and even P/S above 7x are quite common. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
View our latest analysis for Ray
What Does Ray's P/S Mean For Shareholders?
While the industry has experienced revenue growth lately, Ray's revenue has gone into reverse gear, which is not great. The P/S ratio is probably low because investors think this poor revenue performance isn't going to get any better. So while you could say the stock is cheap, investors will be looking for improvement before they see it as good value.
Keen to find out how analysts think Ray's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.Is There Any Revenue Growth Forecasted For Ray?
There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Ray's to be considered reasonable.
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 45%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 12% in aggregate. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.
Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 55% per annum during the coming three years according to the dual analysts following the company. With the industry only predicted to deliver 22% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger revenue result.
In light of this, it's peculiar that Ray's P/S sits below the majority of other companies. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.
The Key Takeaway
The latest share price surge wasn't enough to lift Ray's P/S close to the industry median. 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.
A look at Ray's revenues reveals that, despite glowing future growth forecasts, its P/S is much lower than we'd expect. There could be some major risk factors that are placing downward pressure on the P/S ratio. While the possibility of the share price plunging seems unlikely due to the high growth forecasted for the company, the market does appear to have some hesitation.
And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Ray 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.