The Litian Pictures Holdings Limited (HKG:9958) share price has softened a substantial 33% over the previous 30 days, handing back much of the gains the stock has made lately. The good news is that in the last year, the stock has shone bright like a diamond, gaining 233%.

Even after such a large drop in price, when almost half of the companies in Hong Kong's Entertainment industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.6x, you may still consider Litian Pictures Holdings as a stock not worth researching with its 7.9x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

View our latest analysis for Litian Pictures Holdings

What Does Litian Pictures Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Litian Pictures Holdings as its revenue has been rising very briskly. 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.

How Is Litian Pictures Holdings' Revenue Growth Trending?

Litian Pictures Holdings' P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an explosive gain to the company's top line. Still, revenue has fallen 75% in total from three years ago, which is quite disappointing. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenues over that time.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 20% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

With this in mind, we find it worrying that Litian Pictures Holdings' P/S exceeds that of its industry peers. It seems most investors are ignoring the recent poor growth rate and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. 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

A significant share price dive has done very little to deflate Litian Pictures Holdings' very lofty P/S. 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.

Our examination of Litian Pictures Holdings revealed its shrinking revenue over the medium-term isn't resulting in a P/S as low as we expected, given the industry is set to grow. When we see revenue heading backwards and underperforming the industry forecasts, we feel the possibility of the share price declining is very real, bringing the P/S back into the realm of reasonability. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

Having said that, be aware Litian Pictures Holdings is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

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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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.