Meta Data Limited (NYSE:AIU) Shares May Have Slumped 25% But Getting In Cheap Is Still Unlikely
Meta Data Limited (NYSE:AIU) Shares May Have Slumped 25% But Getting In Cheap Is Still Unlikely
Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Meta Data Limited (NYSE:AIU) share price has dived 25% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 42% share price drop.
In spite of the heavy fall in price, given close to half the companies operating in the United States' Consumer Services industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.2x, you may still consider Meta Data as a stock to potentially avoid with its 3.1x P/S ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's as high as it is.
How Has Meta Data Performed Recently?
Meta Data certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing its revenue at a really rapid pace. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to outperform the wider market, which has seemingly got people interested in the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Meta Data's earnings, revenue and cash flow.Is There Enough Revenue Growth Forecasted For Meta Data?
There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Meta Data's to be considered reasonable.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company's revenues underwent some rampant growth over the last 12 months. Although, its longer-term performance hasn't been anywhere near as strong with three-year revenue growth being relatively non-existent overall. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.
Comparing the recent medium-term revenue trends against the industry's one-year growth forecast of 16% shows it's noticeably less attractive.
With this in mind, we find it worrying that Meta Data's P/S exceeds that of its industry peers. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as a continuation of recent revenue trends is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.
The Key Takeaway
Meta Data's P/S remain high even after its stock plunged. While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.
The fact that Meta Data currently trades on a higher P/S relative to the industry is an oddity, since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider industry forecast. When we see slower than industry revenue growth but an elevated P/S, there's considerable risk of the share price declining, sending the P/S lower. Unless there is a significant improvement in the company's medium-term performance, it will be difficult to prevent the P/S ratio from declining to a more reasonable level.
There are also other vital risk factors to consider and we've discovered 2 warning signs for Meta Data (1 is a bit concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
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.
對於一些股東來說,不幸的是,元數據有限公司(紐約證券交易所代碼:AIU)的股價在過去三十天中下跌了25%,延續了最近的痛苦。在過去十二個月中已經持股的股東沒有獲得回報,反而坐視股價下跌了42%。
儘管價格大幅下跌,但鑑於在美國消費服務行業運營的公司中有近一半的市銷率(或 “市銷率”)低於1.2倍,您仍然可以將Meta Data視爲可以避開的股票,其市銷率爲3.1倍。但是,僅按面值計算市銷率是不明智的,因爲可以解釋其爲何如此之高。
元數據最近的表現如何?
Meta Data最近確實做得很好,因爲它的收入增長非常快。也許市場預計未來的收入表現將超過整個市場,這似乎引起了人們對該股的興趣。如果不是,那麼現有股東可能會對股價的可行性有些緊張。
我們沒有分析師的預測,但您可以查看我們關於Meta Data收益、收入和現金流的免費報告,了解最近的趨勢如何爲公司未來做好準備。預計元數據有足夠的收入增長嗎?
人們固有的假設是,如果像元數據這樣的市銷率被認爲是合理的,公司的表現應該優於該行業。
首先回顧一下,我們看到該公司的收入在過去的12個月中經歷了猛烈的增長。但是,其長期表現並沒有那麼強勁,總體而言,三年收入增長相對不存在。因此,股東們可能不會對不穩定的中期增長率過於滿意。
將最近的中期收入趨勢與該行業16%的年度增長預測進行比較,可以看出其吸引力明顯降低。
考慮到這一點,我們感到擔憂的是,Meta Data的市銷率超過其行業同行。顯然,該公司的許多投資者比最近所表示的要看漲得多,他們不願意以任何價格拋售股票。只有最大膽的人才會假設這些價格是可持續的,因爲近期收入趨勢的延續最終可能會嚴重壓制股價。
關鍵要點
即使在股價暴跌之後,Meta Data的市銷率仍然很高。儘管市銷率不應該成爲決定你是否買入股票的決定性因素,但它是衡量收入預期的有力晴雨表。
相對於該行業,Meta Data目前的市銷率更高,這一事實很奇怪,因爲其最近三年的增長低於整個行業的預測。當我們看到收入增長慢於行業但市銷率上升時,股價下跌的風險很大,從而降低市盈率。除非公司的中期業績有顯著改善,否則很難防止市銷率下降到更合理的水平。
還有其他重要的風險因素需要考慮,我們已經發現了元數據的 2 個警告信號(1 有點令人擔憂!)在這裏投資之前,您應該注意這一點。
當然,具有良好收益增長曆史的盈利公司通常是更安全的選擇。因此,您可能希望看到這些免費收集的市盈率合理且收益增長強勁的其他公司。
對這篇文章有反饋嗎?對內容感到擔憂?直接聯繫我們。 或者,給編輯團隊 (at) simplywallst.com 發送電子郵件。
Simply Wall St的這篇文章本質上是籠統的。我們僅使用公正的方法根據歷史數據和分析師的預測提供評論,我們的文章無意作爲財務建議。它不構成買入或賣出任何股票的建議,也沒有考慮到您的目標或財務狀況。我們的目標是爲您提供由基本數據驅動的長期重點分析。請注意,我們的分析可能不考慮最新的價格敏感型公司公告或定性材料。簡而言之,華爾街沒有持有任何上述股票的頭寸。
譯文內容由第三人軟體翻譯。
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