Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE:FVRR) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 27% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Looking back a bit further, it's encouraging to see the stock is up 28% in the last year.
After such a large jump in price, Fiverr International may be sending very bearish signals at the moment with a price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 63.8x, since almost half of all companies in the United States have P/E ratios under 17x 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.
Recent times have been advantageous for Fiverr International as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. The P/E is probably high because investors think this strong earnings performance will continue. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.
Check out our latest analysis for Fiverr International
The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as Fiverr International's is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 121% gain to the company's bottom line. Although, its longer-term performance hasn't been as strong with three-year EPS growth being relatively non-existent overall. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time.
Shifting to the future, estimates from the eleven analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 31% per year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the rest of the market is forecast to only expand by 10% per annum, which is noticeably less attractive.
In light of this, it's understandable that Fiverr International's P/E sits above the majority of other companies. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.
Shares in Fiverr International have built up some good momentum lately, which has really inflated its P/E. 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.
As we suspected, our examination of Fiverr International'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. It's hard to see the share price falling strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
Many other vital risk factors can be found on the company's balance sheet. Our free balance sheet analysis for Fiverr International with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.
It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).
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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.