Improved Revenues Required Before Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VYGR) Stock's 27% Jump Looks Justified

Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VYGR) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 27% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Notwithstanding the latest gain, the annual share price return of 9.9% isn't as impressive.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, Voyager Therapeutics' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 3x might still make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the wider Biotechs industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 12.2x and even P/S above 74x are quite common. However, the P/S might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

Check out our latest analysis for Voyager Therapeutics

How Voyager Therapeutics Has Been Performing

Voyager Therapeutics 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. Perhaps the P/S remains low as investors think the prospects of strong revenue growth aren't on the horizon. So while you could say the stock is cheap, investors will be looking for improvement before they see it as good value.

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

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Voyager Therapeutics would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the industry.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 26%. This has soured the latest three-year period, which nevertheless managed to deliver a decent 8.7% 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.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 26% per annum during the coming three years according to the nine analysts following the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 146% growth per year, that's a disappointing outcome.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that Voyager Therapeutics' P/S is closely matching its industry peers. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

What We Can Learn From Voyager Therapeutics' P/S?

Voyager Therapeutics' recent share price jump still sees fails to bring its P/S alongside 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.

It's clear to see that Voyager Therapeutics maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast for sliding revenue, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

It is also worth noting that we have found 3 warning signs for Voyager Therapeutics (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you need to take into consideration.

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.