Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARWR) shareholders are no doubt pleased to see that the share price has bounced 30% in the last month, although it is still struggling to make up recently lost ground. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 33% in the last twelve months.

Although its price has surged higher, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals may still be sending very bullish signals at the moment with its price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 3.9x, since almost half of all companies in the Biotechs industry in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 7.7x and even P/S higher than 43x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/S.

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How Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Has Been Performing

With revenue growth that's superior to most other companies of late, Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has been doing relatively well. Perhaps the market is expecting future revenue performance to dive, which has kept the P/S suppressed. If you 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.

Keen to find out how analysts think Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as depressed as Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry decidedly.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an explosive gain to the company's top line. The amazing performance means it was also able to grow revenue by 107% in total over the last three years. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the analysts covering the company suggest revenue growth is heading into negative territory, declining 13% per annum over the next three years. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 156% per annum, which paints a poor picture.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' P/S is closely matching its industry peers. However, shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term. There's potential for the P/S to fall to even lower levels if the company doesn't improve its top-line growth.

The Bottom Line On Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' P/S

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' recent share price jump still sees fails to bring its P/S alongside the industry median. 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 Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' 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.

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.