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At US$10.53, Is System1, Inc. (NYSE:SST) Worth Looking At Closely?

System1, Inc. (NYSE:SST), is not the largest company out there, but it received a lot of attention from a substantial price increase on the NYSE over the last few months. As a stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s take a look at System1’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for System1

Is System1 Still Cheap?

According to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average, the stock price seems to be justfied. In this instance, I’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. I find that System1’s ratio of 28.91x is trading slightly below its industry peers’ ratio of 29.19x, which means if you buy System1 today, you’d be paying a reasonable price for it. And if you believe System1 should be trading in this range, then there isn’t much room for the share price to grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Furthermore, it seems like System1’s share price is quite stable, which means there may be less chances to buy low in the future now that it’s priced similarly to industry peers. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.

Can we expect growth from System1?

earnings-and-revenue-growth
earnings-and-revenue-growth

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Though in the case of System1, it is expected to deliver a highly negative earnings growth in the next few years, which doesn’t help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? SST seems priced close to industry peers right now, but given the uncertainty from negative returns in the future, this could be the right time to reduce the risk in your portfolio. Is your current exposure to the stock beneficial for your total portfolio? And is the opportunity cost of holding a negative-outlook stock too high? Before you make a decision on SST, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

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Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on SST for a while, now may not be the most optimal time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. This means there’s less benefit from mispricing. Furthermore, the negative growth outlook increases the risk of holding the stock. However, there are also other important factors we haven’t considered today, which can help gel your views on SST should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio.

With this in mind, we wouldn't consider investing in a stock unless we had a thorough understanding of the risks. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for System1 (2 don't sit too well with us!) and we strongly recommend you look at these before investing.

If you are no longer interested in System1, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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