When close to half the companies in the Insurance industry in the United States have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.1x, you may consider Trupanion, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRUP) as a stock to potentially avoid with its 1.7x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

View our latest analysis for Trupanion

What Does Trupanion's Recent Performance Look Like?

Recent times have been advantageous for Trupanion as its revenues have been rising faster than most other companies. It seems the market expects this form will continue into the future, hence the elevated P/S ratio. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Trupanion.

How Is Trupanion's Revenue Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Trupanion would need to produce impressive growth in excess of the industry.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 18%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 92% overall rise in revenue, aided 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 seven analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 4.5% each year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to expand by 6.6% per year, which is noticeably more attractive.

With this information, we find it concerning that Trupanion is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. 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. Only the boldest would assume these prices are sustainable as this level of revenue growth is likely to weigh heavily on the share price eventually.

The Final Word

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 Trupanion 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. At these price levels, investors should remain cautious, particularly if things don't improve.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - Trupanion has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of Trupanion's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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.