Those holding Ninebot Limited (SHSE:689009) shares would be relieved that the share price has rebounded 25% in the last thirty days, but it needs to keep going to repair the recent damage it has caused to investor portfolios. The bad news is that even after the stocks recovery in the last 30 days, shareholders are still underwater by about 2.2% over the last year.

After such a large jump in price, Ninebot may be sending very bearish signals at the moment with a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 52.1x, since almost half of all companies in China have P/E ratios under 29x and even P/E's lower than 18x are not unusual. 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.

Ninebot certainly has been doing a good job lately as its earnings growth has been positive while most other companies have been seeing their earnings go backwards. It seems that many are expecting the company to continue defying the broader market adversity, which has increased investors' willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Is There Enough Growth For Ninebot?

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

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a worthy increase of 4.9%. However, due to its less than impressive performance prior to this period, EPS growth is practically non-existent over the last three years overall. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the seven analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 58% over the next year. With the market only predicted to deliver 41%, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Ninebot is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

The Final Word

Shares in Ninebot have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. 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 Ninebot 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. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.

There are also other vital risk factors to consider before investing and we've discovered 2 warning signs for Ninebot that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Ninebot. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have reasonable P/E ratios and have grown earnings strongly.

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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.