LifeStance Health Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFST) Released Earnings Last Week And Analysts Lifted Their Price Target To US$8.50

Shareholders will be ecstatic, with their stake up 25% over the past week following LifeStance Health Group, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:LFST) latest yearly results. The statutory results were mixed overall, with revenues of US$1.1b in line with analyst forecasts, but losses of US$0.51 per share, some 6.5% larger than the analysts were predicting. 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. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

View our latest analysis for LifeStance Health Group

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for LifeStance Health Group from seven analysts is for revenues of US$1.21b in 2024. If met, it would imply a solid 15% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 41% to US$0.29. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$1.20b and losses of US$0.29 per share in 2024. So there seems to have been a moderate uplift in analyst sentiment with the latest consensus release, given the upgrade to loss per share forecasts for this year.

These new estimates led to the consensus price target rising 10% to US$8.50, with lower forecast losses suggesting things could be looking up for LifeStance Health Group. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values LifeStance Health Group at US$10.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$8.00. Still, with such a tight range of estimates, it suggeststhe analysts have a pretty good idea of what they think the company is worth.

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. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that LifeStance Health Group's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 15% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 29% over the past three years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 6.8% per year. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that LifeStance Health Group is also expected to grow faster than 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. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. We note an upgrade to the price target, suggesting that the analysts believes the intrinsic value of the business is likely to improve over time.

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 LifeStance Health Group going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

You still need to take note of risks, for example - LifeStance Health Group has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

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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.