In the current market session, Dynavax Technologies Inc. DVAX is trading at $3.40, after a 4.9% rise. However, over the past month, the stock decreased by 5.29%, and in the past year, by 50.00%. 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 trading higher from its 52 week low by 88.89%. Assuming that all other factors are held constant, this could present itself as an opportunity for investors trying to diversify their portfolio with Biotechnology 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.

Dynavax has a P/E ratio of 0.0 than the aggregate P/E ratio of 0.0 of the biotechnology industry. Ideally, one might believe that Dynavax might perform better in the future than it’s industry group, but it’s probable that the stock is overvalued.

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 be unable to attain key insights from trailing earnings.