The Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc (NASDAQ:BRNS) share price has fared very poorly over the last month, falling by a substantial 29%. For any long-term shareholders, the last month ends a year to forget by locking in a 79% share price decline.

Since its price has dipped substantially, Barinthus Biotherapeutics' price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 1.8x 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 8x and even P/S above 46x are quite common. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so limited.

How Barinthus Biotherapeutics Has Been Performing

Barinthus Biotherapeutics certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing revenue more than most other companies. One possibility is that the P/S ratio is low because investors think this strong revenue performance might be less impressive moving forward. 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.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Barinthus Biotherapeutics .

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?

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

If we review the last year of revenue growth, we see the company's revenues grew exponentially. Spectacularly, three year revenue growth has also set the world alight, thanks to the last 12 months of incredible growth. Therefore, it's fair to say the revenue growth recently has been superb for the company.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the three analysts covering the company suggest revenue growth is heading into negative territory, declining 100% per year over the next three years. That's not great when the rest of the industry is expected to grow by 171% per year.

With this information, we are not surprised that Barinthus Biotherapeutics 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 Final Word

Barinthus Biotherapeutics' P/S looks about as weak as its stock price lately. While the price-to-sales ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of revenue expectations.

With revenue forecasts that are inferior to the rest of the industry, it's no surprise that Barinthus Biotherapeutics' P/S is on the lower end of the spectrum. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

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.

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.