Analysts Just Published A Bright New Outlook For Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (TSE:CPH)

Shareholders in Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSE:CPH) may be thrilled to learn that the analysts have just delivered a major upgrade to their near-term forecasts. Consensus estimates suggest investors could expect greatly increased statutory revenues and earnings per share, with the analysts modelling a real improvement in business performance. Investor sentiment seems to be improving too, with the share price up 7.4% to CA$1.46 over the past 7 days. It will be interesting to see if this latest upgrade is enough to kickstart further buying interest in the stock.

Following this upgrade, Cipher Pharmaceuticals' two analysts are forecasting 2021 revenues to be US$21m, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to soar 128% to US$0.28. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$19m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.17 in 2021. There has definitely been an improvement in perception recently, with the analysts substantially increasing both their earnings and revenue estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for Cipher Pharmaceuticals

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Cipher Pharmaceuticals' past performance and to peers in the same industry. From these estimates it looks as though the analysts expect the years of declining sales to come to an end, given the flat revenue forecast out to 2021. That would be a definite improvement, given that the past five years have seen sales shrink 11% annually. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 35% per year. So it's pretty clear that, although revenues are improving, Cipher Pharmaceuticals is still expected to grow slower than the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates for this year, expecting improving business conditions. Pleasantly, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow slower than the wider market. More bullish expectations could be a signal for investors to take a closer look at Cipher Pharmaceuticals.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have analyst estimates for Cipher Pharmaceuticals going out as far as 2023, 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. 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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