Kaixin Holdings (NASDAQ:KXIN) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 31% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. But the last month did very little to improve the 95% share price decline over the last year.

Even after such a large jump in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Kaixin Holdings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Specialty Retail industry in the United States, where the median P/S ratio is around 0.4x. 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.

How Has Kaixin Holdings Performed Recently?

For example, consider that Kaixin Holdings' financial performance has been poor lately as its revenue has been in decline. Perhaps investors believe the recent revenue performance is enough to keep in line with the industry, which is keeping the P/S from dropping off. If you like the company, you'd at least be hoping this is the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's not quite in favour.

How Is Kaixin Holdings' Revenue Growth Trending?

Kaixin Holdings' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's only expected to deliver moderate growth, and importantly, perform in line with the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 62% decrease to the company's top line. Spectacularly, three year revenue growth has ballooned by several orders of magnitude, despite the drawbacks experienced in the last 12 months. Accordingly, shareholders will be pleased, but also have some serious questions to ponder about the last 12 months.

When compared to the industry's one-year growth forecast of 3.7%, the most recent medium-term revenue trajectory is noticeably more alluring

With this information, we find it interesting that Kaixin Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance is at its limits and have been accepting lower selling prices.

What We Can Learn From Kaixin Holdings' P/S?

Kaixin Holdings' stock has a lot of momentum behind it lately, which has brought its P/S level with the rest of the industry. 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.

We didn't quite envision Kaixin Holdings' P/S sitting in line with the wider industry, considering the revenue growth over the last three-year is higher than the current industry outlook. There could be some unobserved threats to revenue preventing the P/S ratio from matching this positive performance. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued if recent medium-term revenue trends continue, but investors seem to think future revenue could see some volatility.

It is also worth noting that we have found 4 warning signs for Kaixin Holdings (3 are a bit concerning!) 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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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.