Why Investors Shouldn't Be Surprised By GitLab Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GTLB) 26% Share Price Surge

GitLab Inc. (NASDAQ:GTLB) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 26% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. But the gains over the last month weren't enough to make shareholders whole, as the share price is still down 6.4% in the last twelve months.

After such a large jump in price, GitLab's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 11.6x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to other companies in the Software industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios below 5x and even P/S below 1.7x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/S.

See our latest analysis for GitLab

What Does GitLab's Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times have been advantageous for GitLab as its revenues have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems that many are expecting the strong revenue performance to persist, which has raised the P/S. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

How Is GitLab's Revenue Growth Trending?

GitLab's 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 exceptional 31% gain to the company's top line. The strong recent performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 201% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 24% per year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 16% per year, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that GitLab's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

What We Can Learn From GitLab's P/S?

Shares in GitLab have seen a strong upwards swing lately, which has really helped boost its P/S figure. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that GitLab maintains its high P/S on the strength of its forecasted revenue growth being higher than the the rest of the Software industry, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/S as they are quite confident future revenues aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

It is also worth noting that we have found 3 warning signs for GitLab (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you need to take into consideration.

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.