Yahoo Finance Improved Earnings Required Before Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. (NASDAQ:COLL) Shares Find Their Feet
Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:COLL) price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 6.4x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios above 18x and even P/E's above 38x 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 limited.
Recent times have been advantageous for Collegium Pharmaceutical as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. It might be that many expect the strong earnings performance to degrade substantially, which has repressed the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders have reason to be quite optimistic about the future direction of the share price.
Check out our latest analysis for Collegium Pharmaceutical
Keen to find out how analysts think Collegium Pharmaceutical's future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start.
Is There Any Growth For Collegium Pharmaceutical?
The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as depressed as Collegium Pharmaceutical's is when the company's growth is on track to lag the market decidedly.
Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 474% gain to the company's bottom line. Still, EPS has barely risen at all from three years ago in total, which is not ideal. 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 six analysts covering the company suggest earnings growth is heading into negative territory, declining 14% each year over the next three years. Meanwhile, the broader market is forecast to expand by 11% per year, which paints a poor picture.
In light of this, it's understandable that Collegium Pharmaceutical's P/E would sit below the majority of other companies. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/E has reached a floor yet with earnings going in reverse. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.
The Final Word
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.
As we suspected, our examination of Collegium Pharmaceutical's analyst forecasts revealed that its outlook for shrinking earnings is contributing to its low P/E. At this stage investors feel the potential for an improvement in earnings isn't great enough to justify a higher P/E ratio. It's hard to see the share price rising strongly in the near future under these circumstances.
It's always necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Collegium Pharmaceutical, and understanding should be part of your investment process.
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 P/E ratio below 20x).
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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.
