Vericel Corporation's (NASDAQ:VCEL) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 9.8x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Biotechs industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 12.7x and even P/S above 73x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

What Does Vericel's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

With revenue growth that's inferior to most other companies of late, Vericel has been relatively sluggish. The P/S ratio is probably low because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance isn't going to get any better. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

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

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Vericel would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 20% last year. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 42% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 26% each year during the coming three years according to the seven analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 147% each year growth forecast for the broader industry.

In light of this, it's understandable that Vericel's P/S sits below the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

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

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.

As expected, our analysis of Vericel's analyst forecasts confirms that the company's underwhelming revenue outlook is a major contributor to its low P/S. Shareholders' pessimism on the revenue prospects for the company seems to be the main contributor to the depressed P/S. 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 1 warning sign for Vericel you should know about.

If you're unsure about the strength of Vericel's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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