Is It Time To Consider Buying Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ:SLAB)?

Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ:SLAB), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the NASDAQGS. As a mid-cap stock with high coverage by analysts, you could assume any recent changes in the company’s outlook is already priced into the stock. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Silicon Laboratories’s outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

View our latest analysis for Silicon Laboratories

Is Silicon Laboratories Still Cheap?

Silicon Laboratories is currently expensive based on my price multiple model, where I look at the company's price-to-earnings ratio in comparison to the industry average. 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 Silicon Laboratories’s ratio of 57.94x is above its peer average of 23.04x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Semiconductor industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Given that Silicon Laboratories’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

What kind of growth will Silicon Laboratories 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. Silicon Laboratories' earnings growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming years, indicating a solid future ahead. This should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? It seems like the market has well and truly priced in SLAB’s positive outlook, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe SLAB 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 SLAB 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 optimistic prospect is encouraging for SLAB, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop.

Since timing is quite important when it comes to individual stock picking, it's worth taking a look at what those latest analysts forecasts are. So feel free to check out our free graph representing analyst forecasts.

If you are no longer interested in Silicon Laboratories, 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.