Analysts Are Upgrading MaxCyte, Inc. (LON:MXCT) After Its Latest Results

A week ago, MaxCyte, Inc. (LON:MXCT) came out with a strong set of first-quarter numbers that could potentially lead to a re-rate of the stock. Revenue crushed expectations at US$11m, beating expectations by 52%. MaxCyte reported a statutory loss of US$0.09 per share, which - although not amazing - was much smaller than the analysts predicted. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on MaxCyte after the latest results.

View our latest analysis for MaxCyte

Taking into account the latest results, the eight analysts covering MaxCyte provided consensus estimates of US$36.6m revenue in 2024, which would reflect a chunky 17% decline over the past 12 months. Per-share losses are expected to explode, reaching US$0.46 per share. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$34.2m and losses of US$0.50 per share in 2024. It looks like there's been a modest increase in sentiment in the recent updates, with the analysts becoming a bit more optimistic in their predictions for both revenues and losses per share.

Yet despite these upgrades, the analysts cut their price target 29% to UK£5.50, implicitly signalling that the ongoing losses are likely to weigh negatively on MaxCyte's valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. There are some variant perceptions on MaxCyte, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at UK£7.69 and the most bearish at UK£3.31 per share. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 22% annualised decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 18% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 11% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - MaxCyte is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts reconfirmed their loss per share estimates for next year. Fortunately, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, although our data indicates it is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of MaxCyte's future valuation.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for MaxCyte going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for MaxCyte you should be aware of, and 2 of them can't be ignored.

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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.