Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Repare Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:RPTX) share price has dived 32% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The recent drop completes a disastrous twelve months for shareholders, who are sitting on a 64% loss during that time.

Following the heavy fall in price, Repare Therapeutics' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2.6x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the wider Biotechs industry in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 13x and even P/S above 59x are quite common. However, the P/S might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

What Does Repare Therapeutics' Recent Performance Look Like?

Repare Therapeutics could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. Perhaps the P/S remains low as investors think the prospects of strong revenue growth aren't on the horizon. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

Repare Therapeutics' 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, the company's revenue growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 61%. Spectacularly, three year revenue growth has ballooned by several orders of magnitude, despite the drawbacks experienced in the last 12 months. So while the company has done a great job in the past, it's somewhat concerning to see revenue growth decline so harshly.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 10% per annum during the coming three years according to the eight analysts following the company. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 163% per annum.

With this information, we are not surprised that Repare Therapeutics is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

The Key Takeaway

Having almost fallen off a cliff, Repare Therapeutics' share price has pulled its P/S way down as well. 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 Repare Therapeutics' P/S is on the lower end of the spectrum. As other companies in the industry are forecasting revenue growth, Repare Therapeutics' poor outlook justifies its low P/S ratio. Unless there's material change, it's hard to envision a situation where the stock price will rise drastically.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Repare Therapeutics (1 is significant) you should be aware of.

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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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.