The AK Medical Holdings Limited (HKG:1789) share price has done very well over the last month, posting an excellent gain of 30%. Taking a wider view, although not as strong as the last month, the full year gain of 22% is also fairly reasonable.

Following the firm bounce in price, AK Medical Holdings' price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 23.9x 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 11x and even P/E's below 6x 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.

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With earnings growth that's superior to most other companies of late, AK Medical Holdings has been doing relatively well. It seems that many are expecting the strong earnings performance to persist, which has raised the P/E. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

View our latest analysis for AK Medical Holdings

Keen to find out how analysts think AK Medical Holdings' future stacks up against the industry? In that case, our free report is a great place to start .

Is There Enough Growth For AK Medical Holdings?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/E as steep as AK Medical Holdings' is when the company's growth is on track to outshine the market decidedly.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered an exceptional 50% gain to the company's bottom line. Pleasingly, EPS has also lifted 193% in aggregate from three years ago, thanks to the last 12 months of growth. So we can start by confirming that the company has done a great job of growing earnings over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 15% per year as estimated by the seven analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 13% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why AK Medical Holdings 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.

The Bottom Line On AK Medical Holdings' P/E

AK Medical Holdings' P/E is flying high just like its stock has during the last month. We'd say the price-to-earnings ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

As we suspected, our examination of AK Medical Holdings' analyst forecasts revealed that its superior earnings outlook is contributing to its high P/E. 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.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. Our free balance sheet analysis for AK Medical Holdings with six simple checks will allow you to discover any risks that could be an issue.

You might be able to find a better investment than AK Medical Holdings. 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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