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 11.26%.

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 indicates that shareholders do not expect the stock to perform better in the future, and that the company is probably undervalued. 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 34.36 in the General Drug Manufacturers industry, Gilead Sciences Inc. has a lower P/E ratio of 19.12. Shareholders might be inclined to think that they might perform worse than its industry peers. It’s also possible that the stock is undervalued.

price to earnings ratio is not always a great indicator of the company's performance. Depending on the earnings makeup of a company, investors may not be able to attain key insights from trailing earnings.