Revenues Working Against UTime Limited's (NASDAQ:WTO) Share Price Following 26% Dive

UTime Limited (NASDAQ:WTO) shares have had a horrible month, losing 26% after a relatively good period beforehand. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 76% share price decline.

After such a large drop in price, UTime's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Electronic industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 1.8x and even P/S above 5x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

See our latest analysis for UTime

What Does UTime's Recent Performance Look Like?

For instance, UTime's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. It might be that many expect the disappointing revenue performance to continue or accelerate, which has repressed the P/S. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on UTime's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

UTime's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver limited growth, and importantly, perform worse than the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 48% decrease to the company's top line. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 44% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 2.9% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that UTime's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

The Key Takeaway

UTime's P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. We'd say the price-to-sales ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

It's no surprise that UTime maintains its low P/S off the back of its sliding revenue over the medium-term. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 4 warning signs for UTime you should be aware of, and 3 of them are potentially serious.

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.