Analyst Forecasts For Zealand Pharma A/S (CPH:ZEAL) Are Surging Higher

Shareholders in Zealand Pharma A/S (CPH:ZEAL) 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.

Following the upgrade, the current forecast from Zealand Pharma's eleven analysts is for revenues of kr.1.8b in 2025, which would reflect a huge improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are expected to turn into profits real soon, with the analysts forecasting kr.0.89 in per-share earnings. Yet before this consensus update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of kr.951m and losses of kr.10.29 per share in 2025. So we can see that this has sparked a pretty clear upgrade to expectations, with higher revenues anticipated to lead to profit sooner than previously forecast.

Check out our latest analysis for Zealand Pharma

Despite these upgrades, the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of kr.1,019, suggesting that the higher estimates are not likely to have a long term impact on what the stock is worth.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. It's clear from the latest estimates that Zealand Pharma's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 11x annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 14% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 21% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Zealand Pharma is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this upgrade is that there is now an expectation for Zealand Pharma to become profitable next year, compared to previous expectations of a loss. They also upgraded their revenue estimates for next year, and sales are expected to grow faster than the wider market. The lack of change in the price target is puzzling, but with a serious upgrade to next year's earnings expectations, it might be time to take another look at Zealand Pharma.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Zealand Pharma going out to 2026, 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 with high insider ownership.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.