BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE:BKSY) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 29% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 19% in the last twelve months.

After such a large jump in price, when almost half of the companies in the United States' Professional Services industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.4x, you may consider BlackSky Technology as a stock probably not worth researching with its 2.9x P/S ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the elevated P/S.

How BlackSky Technology Has Been Performing

BlackSky Technology certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue more 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.

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

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

If we review the last year of revenue growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 37%. Pleasingly, revenue has also lifted 271% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to climb by 40% per annum during the coming three years according to the six analysts following the company. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 7.3% per year, which is noticeably less attractive.

In light of this, it's understandable that BlackSky Technology's P/S sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From BlackSky Technology's P/S?

BlackSky Technology shares have taken a big step in a northerly direction, but its P/S is elevated as a result. 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.

As we suspected, our examination of BlackSky Technology's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior revenue outlook is contributing to its high P/S. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in revenues is quite remote, justifying the elevated P/S ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Before you take the next step, you should know about the 1 warning sign for BlackSky Technology that we have uncovered.

If companies with solid past earnings growth is up your alley, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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