PLBY Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PLBY) 28% Dip Still Leaving Some Shareholders Feeling Restless Over Its P/SRatio

PLBY Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLBY) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 28% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 73% share price decline.

Even after such a large drop in price, you could still be forgiven for feeling indifferent about PLBY Group's P/S ratio of 0.4x, since the median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio for the Luxury industry in the United States is also close to 0.7x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

View our latest analysis for PLBY Group

How PLBY Group Has Been Performing

While the industry has experienced revenue growth lately, PLBY Group's revenue has gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It might be that many expect the dour revenue performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/S from falling. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on PLBY Group.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

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

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 2.7%. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow revenue by an impressive 128% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, while they would have preferred to keep the run going, shareholders would definitely welcome the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 16% per year during the coming three years according to the six analysts following the company. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 8.9% each year.

In light of this, it's somewhat alarming that PLBY Group's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the negative growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On PLBY Group's P/S

Following PLBY Group's share price tumble, its P/S is just clinging on to the industry median P/S. 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 check of PLBY Group's analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking revenue isn't bringing down its P/S as much as we would have predicted. When we see a gloomy outlook like this, our immediate thoughts are that the share price is at risk of declining, negatively impacting P/S. If the declining revenues were to materialize in the form of a declining share price, shareholders will be feeling the pinch.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 5 warning signs for PLBY Group (1 is a bit concerning!) that you need to be mindful of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.