Lantronix, Inc. (NASDAQ:LTRX) shares have retraced a considerable 27% in the last month, reversing a fair amount of their solid recent performance. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 29% share price drop.

Following the heavy fall in price, Lantronix's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.7x might make it look like a buy right now compared to the Communications industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 1.4x and even P/S above 4x are quite common. However, the P/S might be low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

See our latest analysis for Lantronix

What Does Lantronix's Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times have been advantageous for Lantronix as its revenues have been rising faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the share price, and thus the P/S ratio. If you like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Keen to find out how analysts think Lantronix's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Lantronix's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company managed to grow revenues by a handy 13% last year. This was backed up an excellent period prior to see revenue up by 57% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 2.1% per annum as estimated by the five analysts watching the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 9.3% growth per year, the company is positioned for a weaker revenue result.

With this in consideration, its clear as to why Lantronix's P/S is falling short industry peers. Apparently many shareholders weren't comfortable holding on while the company is potentially eyeing a less prosperous future.

The Key Takeaway

The southerly movements of Lantronix's shares means its P/S is now sitting at a pretty low level. 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.

As we suspected, our examination of Lantronix's analyst forecasts revealed that its inferior revenue outlook is contributing to its low P/S. Shareholders' pessimism on the revenue prospects for the company seems to be the main contributor to the depressed P/S. The company will need a change of fortune to justify the P/S rising higher in the future.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Lantronix 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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