Revenues Not Telling The Story For Arteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIP) After Shares Rise 25%

Arteris, Inc. (NASDAQ:AIP) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 25% after a shaky period beforehand. Looking further back, the 14% rise over the last twelve months isn't too bad notwithstanding the strength over the last 30 days.

Since its price has surged higher, Arteris may be sending bearish signals at the moment with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 6.1x, since almost half of all companies in the Software in the United States have P/S ratios under 4.9x and even P/S lower than 1.8x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/S.

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See our latest analysis for Arteris

How Arteris Has Been Performing

Recent revenue growth for Arteris has been in line with the industry. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to improve, justifying the currently elevated P/S. 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 Arteris' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The High P/S Ratio?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 15% gain to the company's revenues. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 43% in aggregate from three years ago, partly thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the four analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 16% over the next year. With the industry predicted to deliver 16% growth , the company is positioned for a comparable revenue result.

With this information, we find it interesting that Arteris is trading at a high P/S compared to the industry. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly average growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. Although, additional gains will be difficult to achieve as this level of revenue growth is likely to weigh down the share price eventually.

The Final Word

Arteris' P/S is on the rise since its shares have risen strongly. It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

Given Arteris' future revenue forecasts are in line with the wider industry, the fact that it trades at an elevated P/S is somewhat surprising. When we see revenue growth that just matches the industry, we don't expect elevates P/S figures to remain inflated for the long-term. This places shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

Having said that, be aware Arteris is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those can't be ignored.

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.