Despite an already strong run, HiVi Acoustics Technology Co., Ltd (SZSE:002888) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 26% in the last thirty days. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 54%.

After such a large jump in price, when almost half of the companies in China's Consumer Durables industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 2.2x, you may consider HiVi Acoustics Technology as a stock not worth researching with its 12.6x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/S.

Check out our latest analysis for HiVi Acoustics Technology

How Has HiVi Acoustics Technology Performed Recently?

For example, consider that HiVi Acoustics Technology's financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. It might be that many expect the company to still outplay most other companies over the coming period, which has kept the P/S from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The High P/S Ratio?

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

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 12%. This means it has also seen a slide in revenue over the longer-term as revenue is down 18% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Weighing that medium-term revenue trajectory against the broader industry's one-year forecast for expansion of 13% shows it's an unpleasant look.

With this information, we find it concerning that HiVi Acoustics Technology is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

What Does HiVi Acoustics Technology's P/S Mean For Investors?

HiVi Acoustics Technology's P/S has grown nicely over the last month thanks to a handy boost in the share price. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that HiVi Acoustics Technology currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its recent revenues have been in decline over the medium-term. With a revenue decline on investors' minds, the likelihood of a souring sentiment is quite high which could send the P/S back in line with what we'd expect. Should recent medium-term revenue trends persist, it would pose a significant risk to existing shareholders' investments and prospective investors will have a hard time accepting the current value of the stock.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for HiVi Acoustics Technology that we have uncovered.

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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