The Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNC) share price has done very well over the last month, posting an excellent gain of 151%. Still, the 30-day jump doesn't change the fact that longer term shareholders have seen their stock decimated by the 57% share price drop in the last twelve months.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, Cerence's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1x might still make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the wider Software industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 5.5x and even P/S above 13x are quite common. However, the P/S might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

What Does Cerence's Recent Performance Look Like?

With revenue growth that's inferior to most other companies of late, Cerence has been relatively sluggish. Perhaps the market is expecting the current trend of poor revenue growth to continue, which has kept the P/S suppressed. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

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

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 13% last year. Ultimately though, it couldn't turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with revenue shrinking 14% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 5.2% per year during the coming three years according to the seven analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 21% per year, which paints a poor picture.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that Cerence's P/S is closely matching its industry peers. 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.

What Does Cerence's P/S Mean For Investors?

Shares in Cerence have risen appreciably however, its P/S is still subdued. 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.

With revenue forecasts that are inferior to the rest of the industry, it's no surprise that Cerence's P/S is on the lower end of the spectrum. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Cerence (1 is a bit concerning) you should be aware of.

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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