Is It Too Late To Consider Buying Arko Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO)?

Arko Corp. (NASDAQ:ARKO), is not the largest company out there, but it led the NASDAQCM gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. While good news for shareholders, the company has traded much higher in the past year. Less-covered, small caps sees more of an opportunity for mispricing due to the lack of information available to the public, which can be a good thing. So, could the stock still be trading at a low price relative to its actual value? Let’s take a look at Arko’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

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Is Arko Still Cheap?

According to our price multiple model, where we compare the company's price-to-earnings ratio to the industry average, the stock currently looks expensive. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. We find that Arko’s ratio of 41.31x is above its peer average of 17.98x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Specialty Retail industry. In addition to this, it seems like Arko’s share price is quite stable, which could mean two things: firstly, it may take the share price a while to fall back down to an attractive buying range, and secondly, there may be less chances to buy low in the future once it reaches that value. This is because the stock is less volatile than the wider market given its low beta.

Check out our latest analysis for Arko

What kind of growth will Arko generate?

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. 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 56% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Arko. 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? ARKO’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. At this current price, shareholders may be asking a different question – should I sell? If you believe ARKO should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on ARKO for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for ARKO, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Keep in mind, when it comes to analysing a stock it's worth noting the risks involved. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Arko (1 shouldn't be ignored) you should be familiar with.

If you are no longer interested in Arko, 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.