Looking into the current session, Novartis Inc. NVS shares are trading at $86.24, after a 0.51% gain. Moreover, over the past month, the stock increased by 2.16%, but in the past year, fell by 4.70%. 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 higher from its 52 week low by 24.66%. Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for investors trying to diversify their portfolio with Pharmaceuticals 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 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 35.92 in the Pharmaceuticals industry, Novartis Inc. has a lower P/E ratio of 27.74. 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 P/E 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.