Semler Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMLR) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 26% after a shaky period beforehand. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 25% in the last year.

Since its price has surged higher, you could be forgiven for thinking Semler Scientific is a stock to steer clear of with a price-to-sales ratios (or "P/S") of 11.6x, considering almost half the companies in the United States' Medical Equipment industry have P/S ratios below 2.7x. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/S at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

How Semler Scientific Has Been Performing

Semler Scientific could be doing better as its revenue has been going backwards lately while most other companies have been seeing positive revenue growth. Perhaps the market is expecting the poor revenue to reverse, justifying it's current high P/S.. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

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

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

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the industry for P/S ratios like Semler Scientific's to be considered reasonable.

In reviewing the last year of financials, we were disheartened to see the company's revenues fell to the tune of 25%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk revenue by 8.6% in aggregate. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Looking ahead now, revenue is anticipated to slump, contracting by 32% during the coming year according to the one analyst following the company. Meanwhile, the broader industry is forecast to expand by 9.5%, which paints a poor picture.

With this information, we find it concerning that Semler Scientific is trading at a P/S higher than the industry. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a very good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/S falls to levels more in line with the negative growth outlook.

The Bottom Line On Semler Scientific's P/S

The strong share price surge has lead to Semler Scientific's P/S soaring as well. 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.

For a company with revenues that are set to decline in the context of a growing industry, Semler Scientific's P/S is much higher than we would've anticipated. In cases like this where we see revenue decline on the horizon, we suspect the share price is at risk of following suit, bringing back the high P/S into the realms of suitability. At these price levels, investors should remain cautious, particularly if things don't improve.

Of course, profitable companies with a history of great earnings growth are generally safer bets. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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.