Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688090) share price has dived 25% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 28% share price drop.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.3x might still make it look like a buy right now compared to the Machinery industry in China, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 2.6x and even P/S above 5x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

How Has Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding Performed Recently?

For example, consider that Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding's financial performance has been pretty ordinary lately as revenue growth is non-existent. It might be that many expect the uninspiring revenue performance to worsen, which has repressed the P/S. Those who are bullish on Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

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

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of revenue, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. Fortunately, a few good years before that means that it was still able to grow revenue by 27% in total over the last three years. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing revenue over that time.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 24% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker, based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this in consideration, it's easy to understand why Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding's P/S falls short of the mark set by its industry peers. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on to something they believe will continue to trail the wider industry.

The Bottom Line On Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding's P/S

The southerly movements of Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding's shares means its P/S is now sitting at a pretty low level. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

As we suspected, our examination of Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding revealed its three-year revenue trends are contributing to its low P/S, given they look worse than current industry expectations. 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 experience a reversal of fortunes anytime soon.

Having said that, be aware Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis, you should know about.

If you're unsure about the strength of Guangzhou Risong Intelligent Technology Holding's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.