Earnings Not Telling The Story For California Nanotechnologies Corp. (CVE:CNO) After Shares Rise 29%

California Nanotechnologies Corp. (CVE:CNO) shares have had a really impressive month, gaining 29% after a shaky period beforehand. The annual gain comes to 142% following the latest surge, making investors sit up and take notice.

In spite of the firm bounce in price, it's still not a stretch to say that California Nanotechnologies' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 13.6x right now seems quite "middle-of-the-road" compared to the market in Canada, where the median P/E ratio is around 13x. However, investors might be overlooking a clear opportunity or potential setback if there is no rational basis for the P/E.

Recent times have been quite advantageous for California Nanotechnologies as its earnings have been rising very briskly. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to wane, which has kept the P/E from rising. 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 not quite in favour.

See our latest analysis for California Nanotechnologies

Although there are no analyst estimates available for California Nanotechnologies, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Growth Metrics Telling Us About The P/E?

The only time you'd be comfortable seeing a P/E like California Nanotechnologies' is when the company's growth is tracking the market closely.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 114% gain to the company's bottom line. However, the latest three year period hasn't been as great in aggregate as it didn't manage to provide any growth at all. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

This is in contrast to the rest of the market, which is expected to grow by 13% over the next year, materially higher than the company's recent medium-term annualised growth rates.

In light of this, it's curious that California Nanotechnologies' P/E sits in line with the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are willing to pay up for exposure to the stock. They may be setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

The Key Takeaway

Its shares have lifted substantially and now California Nanotechnologies' P/E is also back up to the market median. Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-earnings ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

We've established that California Nanotechnologies currently trades on a higher than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider market forecast. Right now we are uncomfortable with the P/E as this earnings performance isn't likely to support a more positive sentiment for long. If recent medium-term earnings trends continue, it will place shareholders' investments at risk and potential investors in danger of paying an unnecessary premium.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for California Nanotechnologies (of which 2 are potentially serious!) you should know about.

If you're unsure about the strength of California Nanotechnologies' business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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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.