Why Investors Shouldn't Be Surprised By UP Fintech Holding Limited's (NASDAQ:TIGR) 26% Share Price Surge

Simply Wall St · 09/29 12:31

UP Fintech Holding Limited (NASDAQ:TIGR) shareholders would be excited to see that the share price has had a great month, posting a 26% gain and recovering from prior weakness. Not all shareholders will be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down a very disappointing 11% in the last twelve months.

Since its price has surged higher, UP Fintech Holding's price-to-earnings (or "P/E") ratio of 27.4x might make it look like a sell right now compared to the market in the United States, where around half of the companies have P/E ratios below 18x and even P/E's below 10x 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 as high as it is.

Recent times have been pleasing for UP Fintech Holding as its earnings have risen in spite of the market's earnings going into reverse. It seems that many are expecting the company to continue defying the broader market adversity, which has increased investors’ willingness to pay up for the stock. If not, then existing shareholders might be a little nervous about the viability of the share price.

Check out our latest analysis for UP Fintech Holding

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NasdaqGS:TIGR Price to Earnings Ratio vs Industry September 29th 2024
Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on UP Fintech Holding will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

Does Growth Match The High P/E?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should outperform the market for P/E ratios like UP Fintech Holding's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's bottom line as the year before. Although pleasingly EPS has lifted 86% in aggregate from three years ago, notwithstanding the last 12 months. 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 22% per year as estimated by the five analysts watching the company. With the market only predicted to deliver 10% per year, the company is positioned for a stronger earnings result.

With this information, we can see why UP Fintech Holding 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 Key Takeaway

The large bounce in UP Fintech Holding's shares has lifted the company's P/E to a fairly high level. 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.

We've established that UP Fintech Holding maintains its high P/E on the strength of its forecast growth being higher than the wider market, as expected. At this stage investors feel the potential for a deterioration in earnings isn't great enough to justify a lower P/E ratio. Unless these conditions change, they will continue to provide strong support to the share price.

The company's balance sheet is another key area for risk analysis. You can assess many of the main risks through our free balance sheet analysis for UP Fintech Holding with six simple checks.

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.