The China Biotech Services Holdings Limited (HKG:8037) share price has done very well over the last month, posting an excellent gain of 35%. Notwithstanding the latest gain, the annual share price return of 9.9% isn't as impressive.

After such a large jump in price, China Biotech Services Holdings' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 34.7x might make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Hong Kong, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 9x and even P/E's below 5x are quite common. 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.

For example, consider that China Biotech Services Holdings' financial performance has been poor lately as it's earnings have been in decline. One possibility is that the P/E is high because investors think the company will still do 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.

Check out our latest analysis for China Biotech Services Holdings

Is There Enough Growth For China Biotech Services Holdings?

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

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 2.6% decrease to the company's bottom line. At least EPS has managed not to go completely backwards from three years ago in aggregate, thanks to the earlier period of growth. Accordingly, shareholders probably wouldn't have been overly satisfied with the unstable medium-term growth rates.

Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to deliver 16% growth in the next 12 months, the company's momentum is weaker based on recent medium-term annualised earnings results.

With this information, we find it concerning that China Biotech Services Holdings is trading at a P/E higher than the market. Apparently many investors in the company are way more bullish than recent times would indicate and aren't willing to let go of their stock at any price. 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.

What We Can Learn From China Biotech Services Holdings' P/E?

China Biotech Services Holdings' P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. While the price-to-earnings ratio shouldn't be the defining factor in whether you buy a stock or not, it's quite a capable barometer of earnings expectations.

Our examination of China Biotech Services Holdings revealed its three-year earnings trends aren't impacting its high P/E anywhere near as much as we would have predicted, given they look worse than current market expectations. 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.

Don't forget that there may be other risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for China Biotech Services Holdings that you should be aware of.

If you're unsure about the strength of China Biotech Services Holdings' 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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