Despite an already strong run, Masimo Corporation (NASDAQ:MASI) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 28% in the last thirty days. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 87%.

After such a large jump in price, Masimo may be sending sell signals at present with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 4.7x, when you consider almost half of the companies in the Medical Equipment industry in the United States have P/S ratios under 3.3x and even P/S lower than 1.2x aren't out of the ordinary. However, the P/S might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

How Masimo Has Been Performing

Masimo 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 high because investors think this poor revenue performance will turn the corner. If not, then existing shareholders may be extremely nervous about the viability of the share price.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The High P/S Ratio?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as high as Masimo's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry.

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 3.5%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 69% overall rise in revenue, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. Although it's been a bumpy ride, it's still fair to say the revenue growth recently has been more than adequate for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the ten analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 6.2% per year over the next three years. With the industry predicted to deliver 9.2% growth each year, the company is positioned for a weaker revenue result.

With this information, we find it concerning that Masimo is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. 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 growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On Masimo's P/S

Masimo shares have taken a big step in a northerly direction, but its P/S is elevated as a result. 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.

It comes as a surprise to see Masimo trade at such a high P/S given the revenue forecasts look less than stellar. The weakness in the company's revenue estimate doesn't bode well for the elevated P/S, which could take a fall if the revenue sentiment doesn't improve. Unless these conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 1 warning sign for Masimo that you should be aware of.

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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