To the annoyance of some shareholders, Revance Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RVNC) shares are down a considerable 35% in the last month, which continues a horrid run for the company. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 87% share price decline.

After such a large drop in price, Revance Therapeutics may be sending bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2x, since almost half of all companies in the Pharmaceuticals industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 3x and even P/S higher than 20x are not unusual. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's limited.

What Does Revance Therapeutics' P/S Mean For Shareholders?

Recent times have been advantageous for Revance Therapeutics as its revenues have been rising faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong revenue performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the share price, and thus the P/S ratio. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.

How Is Revance Therapeutics' Revenue Growth Trending?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, Revance Therapeutics would need to produce sluggish growth that's trailing the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 77% gain to the company's top line. This great performance means it was also able to deliver immense revenue growth over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a tremendous job of growing revenue over that time.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the eleven analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 29% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 20% per year, which is noticeably less attractive.

With this information, we find it odd that Revance Therapeutics is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Apparently some shareholders are doubtful of the forecasts and have been accepting significantly lower selling prices.

The Final Word

Revance Therapeutics' P/S has taken a dip along with its share price. 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.

Revance Therapeutics' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior revenue outlook isn't contributing to its P/S anywhere near as much as we would have predicted. The reason for this depressed P/S could potentially be found in the risks the market is pricing in. At least price risks look to be very low, but investors seem to think future revenues could see a lot of volatility.

Plus, you should also learn about these 4 warning signs we've spotted with Revance Therapeutics (including 1 which can't be ignored).

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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