To the annoyance of some shareholders, 2CRSI (EPA:2CRSI) shares are down a considerable 47% in the last month. Indeed the recent decline has arguably caused some bitterness for shareholders who have held through the 55% drop over twelve months.
Assuming nothing else has changed, a lower share price makes a stock more attractive to potential buyers. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. The implication here is that long term investors have an opportunity when expectations of a company are too low. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). A high P/E ratio means that investors have a high expectation about future growth, while a low P/E ratio means they have low expectations about future growth.
See our latest analysis for 2CRSI
Does 2CRSI Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?
2CRSI's P/E of 14.56 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. The image below shows that 2CRSI has a lower P/E than the average (23.2) P/E for companies in the tech industry.
This suggests that market participants think 2CRSI will underperform other companies in its industry. Since the market seems unimpressed with 2CRSI, it's quite possible it could surprise on the upside. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.
How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios
Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. If earnings are growing quickly, then the 'E' in the equation will increase faster than it would otherwise. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.
2CRSI's earnings per share fell by 69% in the last twelve months. But it has grown its earnings per share by 58% per year over the last five years.
A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank
It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth.