With a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 51.6x BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) may be sending very bearish signals at the moment, given that almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 18x and even P/E's lower than 10x are not unusual. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical 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. The P/E is probably high because investors think the company will continue to navigate the broader market headwinds better than most. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Is There Enough Growth For BioMarin Pharmaceutical?

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

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 153%. Despite this strong recent growth, it's still struggling to catch up as its three-year EPS frustratingly shrank by 71% overall. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 51% per annum as estimated by the analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 10% each year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why BioMarin Pharmaceutical is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. It seems most investors are expecting this strong future growth and are willing to pay more for the stock.

The Final Word

It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

As we suspected, our examination of BioMarin Pharmaceutical'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. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis for BioMarin Pharmaceutical with six simple checks on some of these key factors.

If P/E ratios interest you, you may wish to see this free collection of other companies with strong earnings growth and low P/E ratios.

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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.