Despite an already strong run, Viomi Technology Co., Ltd (NASDAQ:VIOT) shares have been powering on, with a gain of 26% in the last thirty days. Unfortunately, despite the strong performance over the last month, the full year gain of 6.7% isn't as attractive.

Although its price has surged higher, it would still be understandable if you think Viomi Technology is a stock with good investment prospects with a price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") of 0.2x, considering almost half the companies in the United States' Consumer Durables industry have P/S ratios above 0.8x. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

How Viomi Technology Has Been Performing

Viomi Technology could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. Perhaps the P/S remains low as investors think the prospects of strong revenue growth aren't on the horizon. 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 Viomi Technology'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 23%. This means it has also seen a slide in revenue over the longer-term as revenue is down 57% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the lone analyst covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 24% each year over the next three years. That's shaping up to be materially higher than the 6.0% each year growth forecast for the broader industry.

With this information, we find it odd that Viomi Technology is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

What We Can Learn From Viomi Technology's P/S?

Despite Viomi Technology's share price climbing recently, its P/S still lags most other companies. 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.

A look at Viomi Technology's revenues reveals that, despite glowing future growth forecasts, its P/S is much lower than we'd expect. When we see strong growth forecasts like this, we can only assume potential risks are what might be placing significant pressure on the P/S ratio. While the possibility of the share price plunging seems unlikely due to the high growth forecasted for the company, the market does appear to have some hesitation.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Viomi Technology has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.

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.

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