Yahoo Finance Industry Analysts Just Upgraded Their CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Revenue Forecasts By -28%
Shareholders in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) may be thrilled to learn that the analysts have just delivered a major upgrade to their near-term forecasts. The consensus estimated revenue numbers rose, with their view now clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects. The stock price has risen 10.0% to US$81.39 over the past week, suggesting investors are becoming more optimistic. It will be interesting to see if this latest upgrade is enough to kickstart further buying interest in the stock.
Following the upgrade, the latest consensus from CRISPR Therapeutics' 23 analysts is for revenues of US$52m in 2022, which would reflect a huge 252% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Per-share losses are expected to see a sharp uptick, reaching US$9.30. Yet before this consensus update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$72m and losses of US$8.66 per share in 2022. Ergo, there's been a clear change in sentiment, with the analysts administering a notable cut to this year's revenue estimates, while at the same time increasing their loss per share forecasts.
View our latest analysis for CRISPR Therapeutics
There was no major change to the consensus price target of US$116, signalling that the business is performing roughly in line with expectations, despite lower earnings per share forecasts. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. There are some variant perceptions on CRISPR Therapeutics, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$220 and the most bearish at US$46.00 per share. So we wouldn't be assigning too much credibility to analyst price targets in this case, because there are clearly some widely differing views on what kind of performance this business can generate. As a result it might not be possible to derive much meaning from the consensus price target, which is after all just an average of this wide range of estimates.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the CRISPR Therapeutics' past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that CRISPR Therapeutics' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 11x annualised revenue growth to the end of 2022 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 59% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 15% annually. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect CRISPR Therapeutics to grow faster than the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that analysts increased their loss per share estimates for this year. While analysts did downgrade their revenue estimates, these forecasts still imply revenues will perform better than the wider market. Seeing the dramatic upgrade to this year's forecasts, it might be time to take another look at CRISPR Therapeutics.
Even so, the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for the value creation of shareholders. We have estimates - from multiple CRISPR Therapeutics analysts - going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here.
Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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