There wouldn't be many who think Asana, Inc.'s (NYSE:ASAN) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 4.3x is worth a mention when the median P/S for the Software industry in the United States is very similar. 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 Asana Has Been Performing

Recent revenue growth for Asana has been in line with the industry. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to show no drastic signs of changing, justifying the P/S being at current levels. Those who are bullish on Asana will be hoping that revenue performance can pick up, so that they can pick up the stock at a slightly lower valuation.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should be matching the industry for P/S ratios like Asana's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 16% gain to the company's top line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 163% overall rise in revenue, aided by its short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 16% each year as estimated by the analysts watching the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 18% each year growth forecast for the broader industry.

With this information, we find it interesting that Asana is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited growth expectations and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. These shareholders may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Final Word

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.

Given that Asana's revenue growth projections are relatively subdued in comparison to the wider industry, it comes as a surprise to see it trading at its current P/S ratio. At present, we aren't confident in the P/S as the predicted future revenues aren't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. A positive change is needed in order to justify the current price-to-sales ratio.

Plus, you should also learn about these 3 warning signs we've spotted with Asana.

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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