Subdued Growth No Barrier To Pak Tak International Limited (HKG:2668) With Shares Advancing 78%

Pak Tak International Limited (HKG:2668) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 78% after a shaky period beforehand. Still, the 30-day jump doesn't change the fact that longer term shareholders have seen their stock decimated by the 65% share price drop in the last twelve months.

Since its price has surged higher, when almost half of the companies in Hong Kong's Luxury industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 0.7x, you may consider Pak Tak International as a stock probably not worth researching with its 2.6x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/S.

This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality.

View our latest analysis for Pak Tak International

How Pak Tak International Has Been Performing

With revenue growth that's exceedingly strong of late, Pak Tak International has been doing very well. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to outperform the wider market, which has seemingly got people interested in the stock. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The High P/S Ratio?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Pak Tak International's to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 58%. Still, revenue has fallen 68% 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.

In contrast to the company, the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 37% over the next year, which really puts the company's recent medium-term revenue decline into perspective.

With this information, we find it concerning that Pak Tak International is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. 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.

What We Can Learn From Pak Tak International's P/S?

The large bounce in Pak Tak International's shares has lifted the company's P/S handsomely. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that Pak Tak International currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its recent revenues have been in decline over the medium-term. With a revenue decline on investors' minds, the likelihood of a souring sentiment is quite high which could send the P/S back in line with what we'd expect. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, investors will have a hard time accepting the share price as fair value.

It is also worth noting that we have found 5 warning signs for Pak Tak International (3 are potentially serious!) that you need to take into consideration.

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.