When close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 29x, you may consider Bloomage BioTechnology Corporation Limited (SHSE:688363) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 47.5x P/E ratio. Although, it's not wise to just take the P/E at face value as there may be an explanation why it's so lofty.

Bloomage BioTechnology hasn't been tracking well recently as its declining earnings compare poorly to other companies, which have seen some growth on average. It might be that many expect the dour earnings performance to recover substantially, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Bloomage BioTechnology's to be considered reasonable.

Taking a look back first, the company's earnings per share growth last year wasn't something to get excited about as it posted a disappointing decline of 40%. As a result, earnings from three years ago have also fallen 9.7% overall. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Turning to the outlook, the next year should generate growth of 49% as estimated by the ten analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 35%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

In light of this, it's understandable that Bloomage BioTechnology's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

What We Can Learn From Bloomage BioTechnology's P/E?

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.

As we suspected, our examination of Bloomage BioTechnology's analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

Having said that, be aware Bloomage BioTechnology is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Bloomage BioTechnology, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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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.