GoPro, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRO) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 72% gain in the last month alone. The bad news is that even after the stocks recovery in the last 30 days, shareholders are still underwater by about 7.0% over the last year.
Although its price has surged higher, it's still not a stretch to say that GoPro's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.3x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Consumer Durables industry in the United States, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.6x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.
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See our latest analysis for GoPro
GoPro could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is moderate because investors think this poor revenue performance will turn around. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on GoPro.The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/S like GoPro's is when the company's growth is tracking the industry closely.
Taking a look back first, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 21%. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 34% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.
Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 5.7% during the coming year according to the one analyst following the company. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 3.4%, which paints a poor picture.
With this in consideration, we think it doesn't make sense that GoPro's P/S is closely matching its industry peers. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the negative growth outlook.
GoPro's stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/S level with the rest of the industry. 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.
Our check of GoPro's analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking revenue isn't bringing down its P/S as much as we would have predicted. When we see a gloomy outlook like this, our immediate thoughts are that the share price is at risk of declining, negatively impacting P/S. If we consider the revenue outlook, the P/S seems to indicate that potential investors may be paying a premium for the stock.
Plus, you should also learn about these 3 warning signs we've spotted with GoPro (including 2 which 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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