Investors often opt for the stock-picking approach that involves stocks with a low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. This strategy is based on the notion that the lower the P/E ratio is, the higher the stock value. The reasoning behind this is straightforward — when a stock’s current market price does not adequately reflect its higher earnings, it suggests potential for growth.

But there is more to this whole P/E story. Because not only low P/E, stocks with a rising P/E can also fetch strong returns. In this regard, investors can bet on the likes of AMC Entertainment AMC, Scholar Rock SRRK, PTK Acquisition VLN,  OI Glass OI and Sera Prognostics SERA.

Rising P/E: A Useful Tool

The concept is that as earnings rise, so should the price of the stock. As forecasts for expected earnings come in higher, strong demand for the stock should continue to push up its prices. After all, astock’s P/E gives an indication of how much investors are ready to shell out per dollar of earnings.

Suppose an investor wants to buy a stock with a P/E ratio of 30. This means that he is willing to shell out $30 for only $1 worth of earnings as he expects earnings of the company to rise at a faster pace in the future owing to strong fundamentals.

So, if the P/E of a stock is rising steadily, it means that investors are assured of its inherent strength and expect some strong positives out of it.

Also, studies have revealed that stocks have seen their P/E ratios jump over 100% from their breakout point in the cycle. So, if you can pick stocks early in their breakout cycle, you can end up seeing considerable gains.

The Winning Strategy

In order to shortlist stocks that are exhibiting an increasing P/E, we chose the following as our primary screening parameters.

EPS growth estimate for the current year is greater than or equal to last year’s actual growth

Percentage change in last year EPS should be greater than or equal zero

(These two criteria point to flat earnings or a growth trend over the years.)

Percentage change in price over four weeks greater than the percentage change in price over 12 weeks

Percentage change in price over 12 weeks greater than percentage change in price over 24 weeks

(These two criteria show that price of the stock is increasing consistently over the said timeframes.)

Percentage price change for four weeks relative to the S&P 500 greater than the percentage price change for 12 weeks relative to the S&P 500

Percentage price change for 12 weeks relative to the S&P 500 greater than the percentage price change for 24 weeks relative to the S&P 500

(Here, the case for consistent price gains gets even stronger as it displays percentage price changes relative to the S&P 500.)

Percentage price change for 12 weeks is 20% higher than or equal to the percentage price change for 24 weeks, but it should not exceed 100%

(A 20% increase in the price of a stock from the breakout point gives cues of an impending uptrend. But a jump of over 100% indicates that there is limited scope for further upside and that the stock might be due for a reversal.)

In addition, we place a few other criteria that lead us to some likely outperformers.

Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2: Only companies with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) can get through.

Average 20-day Volume greater than or equal to 50,000: High trading volume implies that the stocks have adequate liquidity.

Just these few criteria narrowed down the universe from over 7,700 stocks to just 42.

Here are four out of the 42 stocks:

AMC Entertainment: The Zacks Rank #2 operates as a theatrical exhibition company primarily in the United States and internationally.

The average earnings surprise of AMC for the past four quarters is 44.22%.

Scholar Rock: The Zacks Rank #2 biopharmaceutical company is focused on the discovery and development of medicines for the treatment of serious diseases.

The average earnings surprise of SRRK for the past four quarters is 17.48%.

PTK Acquisition: This Zacks Rank #2 company is a provider of connectivity solutions for the audio-video and automotive markets.

The average earnings surprise of VLN for the past four quarters is 74.43%.

OI Glass:This Zacks Rank #2 company is the largest manufacturer of glass containers in the world.

The average earnings surprise of OI for the past four quarters is 20.45%.

Sera Prognostics: This Zacks Rank #2 company is a women’s health diagnostics company.

The average earnings surprise of SERA for the past four quarters is 10.39%.
O-I Glass, Inc. (OI): Free Stock Analysis Report

AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC): Free Stock Analysis Report

Scholar Rock Holding Corporation (SRRK): Free Stock Analysis Report

Sera Prognostics, Inc. (SERA): Free Stock Analysis Report

Valens Semiconductor, Ltd. (VLN): Free Stock Analysis Report

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