Downgrade: Here's How Analysts See Lightning eMotors, Inc. (NYSE:ZEV) Performing In The Near Term

The analysts covering Lightning eMotors, Inc. (NYSE:ZEV) delivered a dose of negativity to shareholders today, by making a substantial revision to their statutory forecasts for next year. Revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts were both revised downwards, with the analysts seeing grey clouds on the horizon.

After this downgrade, Lightning eMotors' six analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$134m in 2022. This would be a huge improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. The loss per share is anticipated to greatly reduce in the near future, narrowing 69% to US$0.58. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$196m and losses of US$0.44 per share in 2022. Ergo, there's been a clear change in sentiment, with the analysts administering a notable cut to next year's revenue estimates, while at the same time increasing their loss per share forecasts.

View our latest analysis for Lightning eMotors

There was no major change to the consensus price target of US$13.00, signalling that the business is performing roughly in line with expectations, despite lower earnings per share forecasts. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. There are some variant perceptions on Lightning eMotors, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$17.00 and the most bearish at US$6.00 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Lightning eMotors' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 3x annualised growth to the end of 2022 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 69% per annum over the past three years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 9.3% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Lightning eMotors is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts increased their loss per share estimates for next year. While analysts did downgrade their revenue estimates, these forecasts still imply revenues will perform better than the wider market. The lack of change in the price target is puzzling in light of the downgrade but, with a serious decline expected next year, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were a bit wary of Lightning eMotors.

Even so, the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for the value creation of shareholders. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Lightning eMotors going out to 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 downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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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