Looking into the current session, Baxter Intl Inc. BAX shares are trading at $82.22, after a 5.95% rise. Moreover, over the past month, the stock spiked by 10.41%, but in the past year, fell by 0.10%. Shareholders might be interested in knowing whether the stock is undervalued, even if the company is performing up to par in the current session.

The stock is currently above its 52 week low by 12.44%. Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for investors trying to diversify their portfolio with Health Care Equipment & Supplies stocks, and capitalize on the lower share price observed over the year.

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.

Most often, an industry will prevail in a particular phase of a business cycle, than other industries.

Baxter Intl Inc. has a lower P/E than the aggregate P/E of 85.69 of the Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry. Ideally, one might believe that the stock might perform worse than its peers, but it's also probable that the stock is undervalued.

P/E ratio is not always a great indicator of the company's performance. Depending on the earnings makeup of a company, investors can become unable to attain key insights from trailing earnings.