Unfortunately for some shareholders, the Nanofilm Technologies International Limited (SGX:MZH) share price has dived 25% in the last thirty days, prolonging recent pain. The drop over the last 30 days has capped off a tough year for shareholders, with the share price down 30% in that time.

Even after such a large drop in price, Nanofilm Technologies International's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 41.2x might still make it look like a strong sell right now compared to the market in Singapore, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 11x and even P/E's below 7x are quite common. However, the P/E might be quite high for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

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Recent times have been advantageous for Nanofilm Technologies International as its earnings have been rising faster than most other companies. 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 Nanofilm Technologies International

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on Nanofilm Technologies International .

Is There Enough Growth For Nanofilm Technologies International?

In order to justify its P/E ratio, Nanofilm Technologies International would need to produce outstanding growth well in excess of the market.

If we review the last year of earnings growth, the company posted a terrific increase of 146%. Still, incredibly EPS has fallen 87% in total from three years ago, which is quite disappointing. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of earnings growth.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the six analysts covering the company suggest earnings should grow by 51% per year over the next three years. With the market only predicted to deliver 7.9% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why Nanofilm Technologies International is trading at such a high P/E compared to the market. Apparently shareholders aren't keen to offload something that is potentially eyeing a more prosperous future.

What We Can Learn From Nanofilm Technologies International's P/E?

A significant share price dive has done very little to deflate Nanofilm Technologies International's very lofty P/E. It's argued the price-to-earnings ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

We've established that Nanofilm Technologies International maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. 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.

Before you settle on your opinion, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Nanofilm Technologies International that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a low P/E.

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