Accelink Technologies Co,Ltd. (SZSE:002281) shares have continued their recent momentum with a 28% gain in the last month alone. The last 30 days bring the annual gain to a very sharp 48%.

Following the firm bounce in price, given close to half the companies in China have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 30x, you may consider Accelink Technologies CoLtd as a stock to avoid entirely with its 57.6x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

While the market has experienced earnings growth lately, Accelink Technologies CoLtd's earnings have gone into reverse gear, which is not great. 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.

How Is Accelink Technologies CoLtd's Growth Trending?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as Accelink Technologies CoLtd's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.

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 14%. The last three years don't look nice either as the company has shrunk EPS by 10% in aggregate. Therefore, it's fair to say the earnings growth recently has been undesirable for the company.

Looking ahead now, EPS is anticipated to climb by 19% during the coming year according to the six analysts following the company. That's shaping up to be materially lower than the 38% growth forecast for the broader market.

With this information, we find it concerning that Accelink Technologies CoLtd is trading at a P/E higher than the market. It seems most investors are hoping for a turnaround in the company's business prospects, but the analyst cohort is not so confident this will happen. There's a good chance these shareholders are setting themselves up for future disappointment if the P/E falls to levels more in line with the growth outlook.

The Key Takeaway

Accelink Technologies CoLtd's P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects.

We've established that Accelink Technologies CoLtd currently trades on a much higher than expected P/E since its forecast growth is lower than the wider market. Right now we are increasingly uncomfortable with the high P/E as the predicted future earnings aren't likely to support such positive sentiment for long. This places shareholders' investments at significant risk and potential investors in danger of paying an excessive premium.

And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Accelink Technologies CoLtd you should know about.

Of course, you might also be able to find a better stock than Accelink Technologies CoLtd. 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.