CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CCCS) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 7.9x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the Software industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios below 5.4x and even P/S below 2x are quite common. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/S.

See our latest analysis for CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings

How CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings Has Been Performing

Recent times haven't been great for CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings as its revenue has been rising slower than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is high because investors think this lacklustre revenue performance will improve markedly. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

How Is CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings' Revenue Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as high as CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 10% gain to the company's revenues. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 39% overall rise in revenue, aided somewhat by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the twelve analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 8.7% over the next year. With the industry predicted to deliver 26% growth, the company is positioned for a weaker revenue result.

In light of this, it's alarming that CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings' P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

What Does CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings' P/S Mean For Investors?

While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

We've concluded that CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings currently trades on a much higher than expected P/S since its forecast growth is lower than the wider industry. Right now we aren't comfortable with the high P/S as the predicted future revenues aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless these conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings that you need to be mindful of.

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.

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