Even With A 34% Surge, Cautious Investors Are Not Rewarding PINE Technology Holdings Limited's (HKG:1079) Performance Completely

PINE Technology Holdings Limited (HKG:1079) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 34% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 42% in the last year.

Although its price has surged higher, there still wouldn't be many who think PINE Technology Holdings' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.3x is worth a mention when the median P/S in Hong Kong's Tech industry is similar at about 0.4x. While this might not raise any eyebrows, if the P/S ratio is not justified investors could be missing out on a potential opportunity or ignoring looming disappointment.

View our latest analysis for PINE Technology Holdings

What Does PINE Technology Holdings' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Recent times have been quite advantageous for PINE Technology Holdings as its revenue has been rising very briskly. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to wane, which has kept the share price, and thus the P/S ratio, from rising. Those who are bullish on PINE Technology Holdings will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The P/S Ratio?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, PINE Technology Holdings would need to produce growth that's similar to the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an explosive gain to the company's top line. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 148% overall rise in revenue, aided by its incredible short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is only predicted to deliver 17% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is stronger based on recent medium-term annualised revenue results.

With this information, we find it interesting that PINE Technology Holdings is trading at a fairly similar P/S compared to the industry. It may be that most investors are not convinced the company can maintain its recent growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

Its shares have lifted substantially and now PINE Technology Holdings' P/S is back within range of the industry median. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We didn't quite envision PINE Technology Holdings' P/S sitting in line with the wider industry, considering the revenue growth over the last three-year is higher than the current industry outlook. When we see strong revenue with faster-than-industry growth, we can only assume potential risks are what might be placing pressure on the P/S ratio. At least the risk of a price drop looks to be subdued if recent medium-term revenue trends continue, but investors seem to think future revenue could see some volatility.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 3 warning signs for PINE Technology Holdings (2 are concerning!) that you should be aware of.

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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.