Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry Co., Ltd. (SZSE:002094) 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. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 27% over that time.

Even after such a large jump in price, Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry may still look like a strong buying opportunity at present with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.7x, considering almost half of all companies in the Personal Products industry in China have P/S ratios greater than 3.3x and even P/S higher than 6x aren't out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/S.

How Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry Has Been Performing

For instance, Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry's receding revenue in recent times would have to be some food for thought. Perhaps the market believes the recent revenue performance isn't good enough to keep up the industry, causing the P/S ratio to suffer. However, if this doesn't eventuate then existing shareholders may be feeling optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

How Is Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry's Revenue Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as depressed as Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry decidedly.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 2.1% decrease to the company's top line. This means it has also seen a slide in revenue over the longer-term as revenue is down 37% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 22% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

With this information, we are not surprised that Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent revenue trends are already weighing down the shares.

The Key Takeaway

Even after such a strong price move, Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry's P/S still trails the rest of the industry. While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

Our examination of Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry confirms that the company's shrinking revenue over the past medium-term is a key factor in its low price-to-sales ratio, given the industry is projected to grow. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises either. Given the current circumstances, it seems unlikely that the share price will experience any significant movement in either direction in the near future if recent medium-term revenue trends persist.

You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 1 warning sign for Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry you should be aware of.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Qingdao Kingking Applied Chemistry, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.