To the annoyance of some shareholders, Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNS) shares are down a considerable 26% in the last month, which continues a horrid run for the company. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 98% loss during that time.

Since its price has dipped substantially, Marinus Pharmaceuticals may be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.4x, since almost half of all companies in the Pharmaceuticals industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 3x and even P/S higher than 12x are not unusual. However, the P/S might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

What Does Marinus Pharmaceuticals' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Marinus Pharmaceuticals 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.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

Marinus Pharmaceuticals' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling revenue, and importantly, perform much worse than the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue, the company posted a result that saw barely any deviation from a year ago. However, a few strong years before that means that it was still able to grow revenue by an impressive 105% in total over the last three years. So while the company has done a solid job in the past, it's somewhat concerning to see revenue growth decline as much as it has.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 44% per annum as estimated by the nine analysts watching the company. With the industry only predicted to deliver 20% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger revenue result.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that Marinus Pharmaceuticals' P/S sits behind most of its industry peers. It looks like most investors are not convinced at all that the company can achieve future growth expectations.

What We Can Learn From Marinus Pharmaceuticals' P/S?

Having almost fallen off a cliff, Marinus Pharmaceuticals' share price has pulled its P/S way down as well. 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.

A look at Marinus Pharmaceuticals' 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. It appears the market could be anticipating revenue instability, because these conditions should normally provide a boost to the share price.

Having said that, be aware Marinus Pharmaceuticals is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 2 of those don't sit too well with us.

If you're unsure about the strength of Marinus Pharmaceuticals' 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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