The Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) share price has done very well over the last month, posting an excellent gain of 27%. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 51% in the last year.

Following the firm bounce in price, given close to half the companies in the United States have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 16x, you may consider Amkor Technology as a stock to avoid entirely with its 28.6x 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.

Recent times haven't been advantageous for Amkor Technology as its earnings have been falling quicker than most other companies. It might be that many expect the dismal 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.

Is There Enough Growth For Amkor Technology?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Amkor Technology would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

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 42%. This means it has also seen a slide in earnings over the longer-term as EPS is down 6.8% in total over the last three years. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the eight analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 25% per annum over the next three years. 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 Amkor Technology 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.

What We Can Learn From Amkor Technology's P/E?

Amkor Technology's P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. Generally, our preference is to limit the use of the price-to-earnings ratio to establishing what the market thinks about the overall health of a company.

We've established that Amkor Technology 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 1 warning sign for Amkor Technology that you should be aware of.

You might be able to find a better investment than Amkor Technology. If you want a selection of possible candidates, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com