Optimistic Investors Push Sprocomm Intelligence Limited (HKG:1401) Shares Up 39% But Growth Is Lacking

Sprocomm Intelligence Limited (HKG:1401) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 39% gain in the last month alone. Unfortunately, the gains of the last month did little to right the losses of the last year with the stock still down 21% over that time.

Since its price has surged higher, given close to half the companies in Hong Kong have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 10x, you may consider Sprocomm Intelligence as a stock to avoid entirely with its 58.3x 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.

Sprocomm Intelligence certainly has been doing a great job lately as it's been growing earnings at a really rapid pace. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings growth will be enough to outperform the broader market in the near future. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason.

See our latest analysis for Sprocomm Intelligence

Is There Enough Growth For Sprocomm Intelligence?

Sprocomm Intelligence's P/E ratio would be typical for a company that's expected to deliver very strong growth, and importantly, perform much better than the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 301%. Still, EPS has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.

Weighing that recent medium-term earnings trajectory against the broader market's one-year forecast for expansion of 20% shows it's noticeably less attractive on an annualised basis.

With this information, we find it concerning that Sprocomm Intelligence is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are ignoring the fairly limited recent growth rates and are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects. There's a good chance existing shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with recent growth rates.

The Bottom Line On Sprocomm Intelligence's P/E

The strong share price surge has got Sprocomm Intelligence's P/E rushing to great heights as well. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

We've established that Sprocomm Intelligence currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its recent three-year growth is lower than the wider market forecast. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as this earnings performance isn't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. Unless the recent medium-term conditions improve markedly, it's very challenging to accept these prices as being reasonable.

Plus, you should also learn about these 2 warning signs we've spotted with Sprocomm Intelligence (including 1 which is concerning).

If you're unsure about the strength of Sprocomm Intelligence's business, why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals for some other companies you may have missed.

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