Ruihe Data Technology Holdings Limited (HKG:3680) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 35% after a shaky period beforehand. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 52% in the last year.

Following the firm bounce in price, you could be forgiven for thinking Ruihe Data Technology Holdings is a stock not worth researching with a price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") of 1.8x, considering almost half the companies in Hong Kong's IT industry have P/S ratios below 1.1x. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/S.

Check out our latest analysis for Ruihe Data Technology Holdings

How Has Ruihe Data Technology Holdings Performed Recently?

Recent times have been quite advantageous for Ruihe Data Technology Holdings as its revenue has been rising very briskly. The P/S ratio is probably high because investors think this strong revenue growth will be enough to outperform the broader industry in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Ruihe Data Technology Holdings' earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Enough Revenue Growth Forecasted For Ruihe Data Technology Holdings?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Ruihe Data Technology Holdings' to be considered reasonable.

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 31%. As a result, it also grew revenue by 24% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been respectable for the company.

This is in contrast to the rest of the industry, which is expected to grow by 9.6% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

With this information, we find it concerning that Ruihe Data Technology Holdings is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. There's a good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

The Final Word

Ruihe Data Technology Holdings' P/S is on the rise since its shares have risen strongly. 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.

Our examination of Ruihe Data Technology Holdings revealed its poor three-year revenue trends aren't detracting from the P/S as much as we though, given they look worse than current industry expectations. Right now we aren't comfortable with the high P/S as this revenue performance isn't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these the share price as being reasonable.

Having said that, be aware Ruihe Data Technology Holdings is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

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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