Surfilter Network Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300311) shareholders that were waiting for something to happen have been dealt a blow with a 25% share price drop in the last month. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 36% share price drop.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, Surfilter Network Technology may still be sending sell signals at present with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 5.7x, when you consider almost half of the companies in the Software industry in China have P/S ratios under 4.7x and even P/S lower than 2x 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 elevated P/S.

How Surfilter Network Technology Has Been Performing

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Surfilter Network Technology over the last year, which is not ideal at all. One possibility is that the P/S is high because investors think the company will still do enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. If not, then existing shareholders may be quite nervous about the viability of the share price.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The High P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Surfilter Network Technology's 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 24%. As a result, revenue from three years ago have also fallen 31% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 35% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

With this in mind, we find it worrying that Surfilter Network Technology's P/S exceeds that of its industry peers. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a very good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the recent negative growth rates.

What Does Surfilter Network Technology's P/S Mean For Investors?

Surfilter Network Technology's P/S remain high even after its stock plunged. 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.

We've established that Surfilter Network Technology currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its recent revenues have been in decline over the medium-term. With a revenue decline on investors' minds, the likelihood of a souring sentiment is quite high which could send the P/S back in line with what we'd expect. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Surfilter Network Technology (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) 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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