Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSHA) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 33% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Of course, over the longer-term many would still wish they owned shares as the stock's price has soared 226% in the last twelve months.

Even after such a large drop in price, Taysha Gene Therapies' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 30.8x might still make it look like a strong sell right now compared to other companies in the Biotechs industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios below 11.3x and even P/S below 4x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/S.

How Taysha Gene Therapies Has Been Performing

Recent revenue growth for Taysha Gene Therapies has been in line with the industry. It might be that many expect the mediocre revenue performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/S ratio from falling. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

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

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as steep as Taysha Gene Therapies' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry decidedly.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 96% last year. Still, revenue has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing revenue over that time.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 40% each year during the coming three years according to the twelve analysts following the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 198% growth each year, the company is positioned for a weaker revenue result.

In light of this, it's alarming that Taysha Gene Therapies' P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as this level of revenue growth is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Final Word

Even after such a strong price drop, Taysha Gene Therapies' P/S still exceeds the industry median significantly. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

Despite analysts forecasting some poorer-than-industry revenue growth figures for Taysha Gene Therapies, this doesn't appear to be impacting the P/S in the slightest. 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. At these price levels, investors should remain cautious, particularly if things don't improve.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Taysha Gene Therapies (of which 2 don't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

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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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.

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