With a median price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of close to 1.2x in the Food industry in Australia, you could be forgiven for feeling indifferent about Wellnex Life Limited's (ASX:WNX) P/S ratio of 1.3x. Although, it's not wise to simply ignore the P/S without explanation as investors may be disregarding a distinct opportunity or a costly mistake.

See our latest analysis for Wellnex Life

What Does Wellnex Life's P/S Mean For Shareholders?

As an illustration, revenue has deteriorated at Wellnex Life over the last year, which is not ideal at all. It might be that many expect the company to put the disappointing revenue performance behind them over the coming period, which has kept the P/S from falling. If not, then existing shareholders may be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Although there are no analyst estimates available for Wellnex Life, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Wellnex Life would need to produce growth that's similar to the industry.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 39%. In spite of this, the company still managed to deliver immense revenue growth over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders will be pleased, but also have some serious questions to ponder about the last 12 months.

Comparing that recent medium-term revenue trajectory with the industry's one-year growth forecast of 9.1% shows it's noticeably more attractive.

In light of this, it's curious that Wellnex Life's P/S sits in line with the majority of other companies. Apparently some shareholders believe the recent performance is at its limits and have been accepting lower selling prices.

The Bottom Line On Wellnex Life's P/S

Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-sales ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We didn't quite envision Wellnex Life's P/S sitting in line with the wider industry, considering the revenue growth over the last three-year is higher than the current industry outlook. There could be some unobserved threats to revenue preventing the P/S ratio from matching this positive performance. While recent revenue trends over the past medium-term suggest that the risk of a price decline is low, investors appear to see the likelihood of revenue fluctuations in the future.

Having said that, be aware Wellnex Life is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is concerning.

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).

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.