Those holding DarioHealth Corp. (NASDAQ:DRIO) shares would be relieved that the share price has rebounded 30% in the last thirty days, but it needs to keep going to repair the recent damage it has caused to investor portfolios. Still, the 30-day jump doesn't change the fact that longer term shareholders have seen their stock decimated by the 68% share price drop in the last twelve months.

Even after such a large jump in price, DarioHealth may still be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.7x, since almost half of all companies in the Healthcare Services industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 2.2x and even P/S higher than 6x are not unusual. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

What Does DarioHealth's Recent Performance Look Like?

While the industry has experienced revenue growth lately, DarioHealth's revenue has gone into reverse gear, which is not great. It seems that many are expecting the poor revenue performance to persist, which has repressed the P/S ratio. So while you could say the stock is cheap, investors will be looking for improvement before they see it as good value.

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

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as low as DarioHealth's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry.

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 28%. Still, the latest three year period has seen an excellent 48% overall rise in revenue, in spite of its unsatisfying short-term performance. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 44% per year during the coming three years according to the three analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 11% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that DarioHealth's P/S sits behind most of its industry peers. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

What We Can Learn From DarioHealth's P/S?

DarioHealth's stock price has surged recently, but its but its P/S still remains modest. 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.

DarioHealth's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior revenue outlook isn't contributing to its P/S anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. The reason for this depressed P/S could potentially be found in the risks the market is pricing in. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future revenues could see a lot of volatility.

It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 5 warning signs with DarioHealth, and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.