Centogene N.V. (NASDAQ:CNTG) Might Not Be As Mispriced As It Looks

When close to half the companies operating in the Healthcare industry in the United States have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") above 1.1x, you may consider Centogene N.V. (NASDAQ:CNTG) as an attractive investment with its 0.6x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

Check out our latest analysis for Centogene

How Has Centogene Performed Recently?

Centogene certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue more than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the share price, and thus the P/S ratio. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

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

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company's revenues underwent some rampant growth over the last 12 months. Still, revenue has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 11% during the coming year according to the sole analyst following the company. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 7.6% growth forecast for the broader industry.

With this information, we find it odd that Centogene is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

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.

Centogene's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior revenue outlook isn't contributing to its P/S anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. The reason for this depressed P/S could potentially be found in the risks the market is pricing in. It appears the market could be anticipating revenue instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 7 warning signs for Centogene (3 make us uncomfortable!) that you need to be mindful 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).

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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.