Yidu Tech Inc. (HKG:2158) shares have retraced a considerable 28% in the last month, reversing a fair amount of their solid recent performance. Indeed, the recent drop has reduced its annual gain to a relatively sedate 2.2% over the last twelve months.

In spite of the heavy fall in price, it's still not a stretch to say that Yidu Tech's price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 5.3x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the Healthcare Services industry in Hong Kong, seeing as it matches the P/S ratio of the wider industry. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/S.

View our latest analysis for Yidu Tech

How Yidu Tech Has Been Performing

Recent times haven't been great for Yidu Tech as its revenue has been rising slower than most other companies. It might be that many expect the uninspiring revenue performance to strengthen positively, which has kept the P/S ratio from falling. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a relatively elevated price for a company with this sort of growth profile.

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

Is There Some Revenue Growth Forecasted For Yidu Tech?

The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/S like Yidu Tech's is when the company's growth is tracking the industry closely.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 14% gain to the company's revenues. Ultimately though, it couldn't turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with revenue shrinking 26% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 8.1% as estimated by the three analysts watching the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 29% growth, the company is positioned for a weaker revenue result.

In light of this, it's curious that Yidu Tech's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently many investors in the company are less bearish than analysts indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock right now. Maintaining these prices will be difficult to achieve as this level of revenue growth is likely to weigh down the shares eventually.

The Final Word

With its share price dropping off a cliff, the P/S for Yidu Tech looks to be in line with the rest of the Healthcare Services industry. 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.

Our look at the analysts forecasts of Yidu Tech's revenue prospects has shown that its inferior revenue outlook isn't negatively impacting its P/S as much as we would have predicted. At present, we aren't confident in the P/S as the predicted future revenues aren't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. A positive change is needed in order to justify the current price-to-sales ratio.

Having said that, be aware Yidu Tech is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is significant.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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