In the current session, IDEXX Laboratories Inc. IDXX is trading at $691.05, after a 0.60% increase. Over the past month, the stock increased by 9.42%, and in the past year, by 84.72%. With performance like this, long-term shareholders are optimistic but others are more likely to look into the price-to-earnings ratio to see if the stock might be overvalued.

Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for shareholders trying to capitalize on the higher share price. The stock is currently under from its 52 week high by 0.76%.

The P/E ratio is used by long-term shareholders to assess the company's market performance against aggregate market data, historical earnings, and the industry at large. A lower P/E can either represent a company's poor future earnings potential or a buying opportunity relative to other stocks. It shows that shareholders are less than willing to pay a high share price, because they do not expect the company to exhibit growth, in terms of future earnings.

Depending on the particular phase of a business cycle, some industries will perform better than others.

Compared to the aggregate P/E ratio of the 213.94 in the Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry, IDEXX Laboratories Inc. has a lower P/E ratio of 88.41. Shareholders might be inclined to think that the stock might perform worse than its industry peers. It's also possible that the stock is undervalued.

There are many limitations to price to earnings ratio. It is sometimes difficult to determine the nature of the earnings makeup of a company. Shareholders might not get what they're looking for, from trailing earnings.