The Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT) share price has fared very poorly over the last month, falling by a substantial 34%. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 76% share price decline.

Following the heavy fall in price, Editas Medicine's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 3.3x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the wider Biotechs industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 10.3x and even P/S above 60x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/S.

What Does Editas Medicine's Recent Performance Look Like?

Editas Medicine could be doing better as it's been growing revenue less than most other companies lately. The P/S ratio is probably low because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance isn't going to get any better. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping revenue doesn't get any worse and that you could pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Is There Any Revenue Growth Forecasted For Editas Medicine?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Editas Medicine's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 151%. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 152% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest revenue growth is heading into negative territory, declining 7.2% per annum over the next three years. With the industry predicted to deliver 118% growth per annum, that's a disappointing outcome.

In light of this, it's understandable that Editas Medicine's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. However, shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

The Final Word

Editas Medicine's P/S looks about as weak as its stock price lately. 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.

It's clear to see that Editas Medicine maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast for sliding revenue, as expected. As other companies in the industry are forecasting revenue growth, Editas Medicine's poor outlook justifies its low P/S ratio. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Editas Medicine (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.