Industry Analysts Just Upgraded Their OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSUR) Revenue Forecasts By 14%

OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSUR) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the analysts making substantial upgrades to this year's statutory forecasts. The revenue forecast for this year has experienced a facelift, with analysts now much more optimistic on its sales pipeline. OraSure Technologies has also found favour with investors, with the stock up an extraordinary 44% to US$6.49 over the past week. We'll be curious to see if these new estimates convince the market to lift the stock price higher still.

Following the upgrade, the consensus from six analysts covering OraSure Technologies is for revenues of US$364m in 2023, implying a sizeable 24% decline in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are supposed to plummet 52% to US$0.28 in the same period. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$320m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.12 in 2023. So we can see there's been a pretty clear increase in analyst sentiment in recent times, with both revenues and earnings per share receiving a decent lift in the latest estimates.

See our latest analysis for OraSure Technologies

Although the analysts have upgraded their earnings estimates, there was no change to the consensus price target of US$5.95, suggesting that the forecast performance does not have a long term impact on the company's valuation.

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. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 43% by the end of 2023. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 23% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 7.8% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - OraSure Technologies is expected to lag the wider 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. Fortunately, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and are forecasting revenues to grow slower than the wider market. Given that analysts appear to be expecting substantial improvement in the sales pipeline, now could be the right time to take another look at OraSure Technologies.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple OraSure Technologies analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

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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.