Manchester United (NYSE:MANU): Weighing Valuation as Shares Drift and Fundamentals Slowly Improve

Manchester United (MANU) shares have been drifting lately, with the stock roughly flat over the past month and down about 6% this year, even as the club’s underlying business trends slowly improve.

See our latest analysis for Manchester United.

At around $15.91, the latest share price reflects a modest positive 7 day share price return while the 1 year total shareholder return remains negative. This suggests sentiment is still cautious even as the long term commercial story slowly improves.

If you are weighing where to put fresh capital next, this could be a good moment to broaden your search and explore fast growing stocks with high insider ownership.

With shares lagging broader markets despite recovering revenues and a sizeable discount to analyst targets and intrinsic value estimates, the key question now is whether Manchester United is quietly undervalued or whether markets already reflect its future growth.

Price-to-Sales of 3.1x: Is it justified?

Manchester United trades on a price-to-sales ratio of 3.1x at the last close of $15.91, putting the shares on a noticeably richer valuation than peers.

The price-to-sales multiple compares the company’s market value to its annual revenue. This can be a useful yardstick for businesses like Manchester United that are not yet consistently profitable but still generate substantial turnover from broadcasting, sponsorship and matchday income.

In this case, the 3.1x price-to-sales ratio sits well above both the US Entertainment industry average of 1.5x and the estimated fair price-to-sales ratio of 1.9x. This suggests investors are assigning a premium that the broader market has not yet earned. Those higher levels imply the share price may need either faster growth or improved profitability to catch up with the expectations embedded in today’s valuation.

Explore the SWS fair ratio for Manchester United

Result: Price-to-Sales of 3.1x (OVERVALUED)

However, persistent net losses and a long history of weak shareholder returns could limit upside if revenue growth stalls or commercial momentum fades.

Find out about the key risks to this Manchester United narrative.

Another View: DCF Points the Other Way

While the price to sales ratio looks stretched, our DCF model tells a different story. It suggests fair value of about $36.05 versus today’s $15.91. That implies Manchester United could be meaningfully undervalued, but are the long term cash flow assumptions too optimistic?

Look into how the SWS DCF model arrives at its fair value.

Simply Wall St performs a discounted cash flow (DCF) on every stock in the world every day (check out Manchester United for example). We show the entire calculation in full. You can track the result in your watchlist or portfolio and be alerted when this changes, or use our stock screener to discover 919 undervalued stocks based on their cash flows. If you save a screener we even alert you when new companies match - so you never miss a potential opportunity.

Build Your Own Manchester United Narrative

If you are not convinced by this view or would rather rely on your own analysis, you can quickly build a personalized thesis in minutes: Do it your way.

A great starting point for your Manchester United research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.

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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.

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