Is Piaggio & C. SpA (BIT:PIA) Potentially Undervalued?

Piaggio & C. SpA (BIT:PIA), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the BIT, rising to highs of €3.19 and falling to the lows of €2.73. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Piaggio & C's current trading price of €2.95 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Piaggio & C’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change.

View our latest analysis for Piaggio & C

Is Piaggio & C still cheap?

The share price seems sensible at the moment according to my price multiple model, where I compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average. I’ve used the price-to-earnings ratio in this instance because there’s not enough visibility to forecast its cash flows. The stock’s ratio of 19.62x is currently trading slightly above its industry peers’ ratio of 14.84x, which means if you buy Piaggio & C today, you’d be paying a relatively sensible price for it. And if you believe Piaggio & C should be trading in this range, then there isn’t really any room for the share price grow beyond the levels of other industry peers over the long-term. Although, there may be an opportunity to buy in the future. This is because Piaggio & C’s beta (a measure of share price volatility) is high, meaning its price movements will be exaggerated relative to the rest of the market. If the market is bearish, the company’s shares will likely fall by more than the rest of the market, providing a prime buying opportunity.

What does the future of Piaggio & C look like?

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. With profit expected to grow by 77% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Piaggio & C. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation.

What this means for you:

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has already priced in PIA’s positive outlook, with shares trading around industry price multiples. However, there are also other important factors which we haven’t considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at PIA? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the industry PE ratio?

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on PIA, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around industry price multiples. However, the optimistic forecast is encouraging for PIA, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

If you'd like to know more about Piaggio & C as a business, it's important to be aware of any risks it's facing. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Piaggio & C you should be aware of.

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

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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.