DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 26% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 20% over that time.
Following the firm bounce in price, given close to half the companies operating in the United States' Hospitality industry have price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") below 1.7x, you may consider DraftKings as a stock to potentially avoid with its 3.2x P/S ratio. However, the P/S might be high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
See our latest analysis for DraftKings
DraftKings certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue more than most other companies. The P/S is probably high because investors think this strong revenue performance will continue. However, if this isn't the case, investors might get caught out paying too much for the stock.
Keen to find out how analysts think DraftKings' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the industry for P/S ratios like DraftKings' to be considered reasonable.
Taking a look back first, we see that the company grew revenue by an impressive 19% last year. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 194% overall rise in revenue, aided by its short-term performance. Accordingly, shareholders would have definitely welcomed those medium-term rates of revenue growth.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest revenue should grow by 21% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is forecast to only expand by 14% each year, which is noticeably less attractive.
In light of this, it's understandable that DraftKings' P/S sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.
DraftKings shares have taken a big step in a northerly direction, but its P/S is elevated as a result. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.
Our look into DraftKings shows that its P/S ratio remains high on the merit of its strong future revenues. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/S as they are quite confident future revenues aren't under threat. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for DraftKings with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.
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.