When you see that almost half of the companies in the Healthcare industry in the United States have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.2x, Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) looks to be giving off strong sell signals with its 4.4x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

What Does Guardant Health's Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times have been advantageous for Guardant Health as its revenues have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong revenue performance to persist, which has raised the P/S. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

Is There Enough Revenue Growth Forecasted For Guardant Health?

Guardant Health's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 26% last year. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 99% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 19% per year during the coming three years according to the analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 7.4% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that Guardant Health's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Guardant Health's P/S?

We'd say the price-to-sales ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Guardant Health maintains its high P/S on the strength of its forecasted revenue growth being higher than the the rest of the Healthcare industry, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in revenues is quite remote, justifying the elevated P/S ratio. Unless the analysts have really missed the mark, these strong revenue forecasts should keep the share price buoyant.

You need to take note of risks, for example - Guardant Health has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is concerning) we think you should know about.

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

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.