PKSHA Technology Inc. (TSE:3993) shareholders won't be pleased to see that the share price has had a very rough month, dropping 25% and undoing the prior period's positive performance. Instead of being rewarded, shareholders who have already held through the last twelve months are now sitting on a 19% share price drop.
Even after such a large drop in price, PKSHA Technology may still be sending very bearish signals at the moment with a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 38.6x, since almost half of all companies in Japan have P/E ratios under 14x and even P/E's lower than 10x are not unusual. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.
PKSHA Technology certainly has been doing a good job lately as it's been growing earnings more than most other companies. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.
Check out our latest analysis for PKSHA Technology
How Is PKSHA Technology's Growth Trending?
There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like PKSHA Technology's to be considered reasonable.
If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 28%. The latest three year period has also seen an excellent 216% overall rise in EPS, aided by its short-term performance. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been superb for the company.
Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 22% during the coming year according to the four analysts following the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 9.1%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.
With this information, we can see why PKSHA Technology is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.
The Key Takeaway
Even after such a strong price drop, PKSHA Technology's P/E still exceeds the rest of the market significantly. It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.
We've established that PKSHA Technology maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident future earnings aren't under threat. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.
We don't want to rain on the parade too much, but we did also find 1 warning sign for PKSHA Technology that you need to be mindful of.
Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than PKSHA Technology. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.
Valuation is complex, but we're here to simplify it.
Discover if PKSHA Technology might be undervalued or overvalued with our detailed analysis, featuring fair value estimates, potential risks, dividends, insider trades, and its financial condition.
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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.