The Equillium, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQ) share price has softened a substantial 28% over the previous 30 days, handing back much of the gains the stock has made lately. Of course, over the longer-term many would still wish they owned shares as the stock's price has soared 163% in the last twelve months.

Following the heavy fall in price, Equillium may be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.9x, since almost half of all companies in the Biotechs industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 13.4x and even P/S higher than 70x are not unusual. However, the P/S might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

How Has Equillium Performed Recently?

Equillium could be doing better as it's been growing revenue less than most other companies lately. It seems that many are expecting the uninspiring revenue performance to persist, which has repressed the growth of the P/S ratio. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

How Is Equillium's Revenue Growth Trending?

Equillium's P/S ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very poor growth or even falling revenue, and importantly, perform much worse than the industry.

Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 129% last year. Still, revenue has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing revenue over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the four analysts covering the company suggest revenue growth is heading into negative territory, declining 4.5% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 168% each year, which paints a poor picture.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that Equillium's P/S is closely matching its industry peers. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

The Final Word

Equillium's P/S looks about as weak as its stock price lately. Using the price-to-sales ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

With revenue forecasts that are inferior to the rest of the industry, it's no surprise that Equillium's P/S is on the lower end of the spectrum. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in revenue isn't great enough to justify a higher P/S ratio. Unless there's material change, it's hard to envision a situation where the stock price will rise drastically.

Plus, you should also learn about these 5 warning signs we've spotted with Equillium (including 2 which are potentially serious).

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).

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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.