Cautious Investors Not Rewarding InnovAge Holding Corp.'s (NASDAQ:INNV) Performance Completely

It's not a stretch to say that InnovAge Holding Corp.'s (NASDAQ:INNV) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.6x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" for companies in the Healthcare industry in the United States, where the median P/S ratio is around 1.3x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

Check out our latest analysis for InnovAge Holding

What Does InnovAge Holding's Recent Performance Look Like?

InnovAge Holding hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining revenue compares poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth in their revenues on average. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is moderate because investors think this poor revenue performance will turn around. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

Keen to find out how analysts think InnovAge Holding's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

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 InnovAge Holding's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 1.9% decrease to the company's top line. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 21% overall rise in revenue. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 29% per annum as estimated by the four analysts watching the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 8.6% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we find it interesting that InnovAge Holding is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. Apparently some shareholders are skeptical of the forecasts and have been accepting lower selling prices.

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.

Looking at InnovAge Holding's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior revenue outlook isn't giving the boost to its P/S that we would've expected. When we see a strong revenue outlook, with growth outpacing the industry, we can only assume potential uncertainty around these figures are what might be placing slight pressure on the P/S ratio. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued, but investors seem to think future revenue could see some volatility.

A lot of potential risks can sit within a company's balance sheet. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for InnovAge Holding with six simple checks.

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.