You may think that with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2.1x MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) is definitely a stock worth checking out, seeing as almost half of all the Semiconductor companies in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 4.5x and even P/S above 10x aren't out of the ordinary. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.

How MKS Instruments Has Been Performing

MKS Instruments could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. Perhaps the P/S remains low as investors think the prospects of strong revenue growth aren't on the horizon. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

Is There Any Revenue Growth Forecasted For MKS Instruments?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the industry for P/S ratios like MKS Instruments' to be considered reasonable.

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 7.1%. Regardless, revenue has managed to lift by a handy 25% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the earlier period of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 6.7% over the next year. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to expand by 39%, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we can see why MKS Instruments is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

The Bottom Line On MKS Instruments' P/S

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.

As expected, our analysis of MKS Instruments' analyst forecasts confirms that the company's underwhelming revenue outlook is a major contributor to its low P/S. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. The company will need a change of fortune to justify the P/S rising higher in the future.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for MKS Instruments (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you need to take into consideration.

Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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