New Forecasts: Here's What Analysts Think The Future Holds For Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT)

Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:EDIT) shareholders will have a reason to smile today, with the analysts making substantial upgrades to next year's forecasts. The revenue forecast for next year has experienced a facelift, with analysts now much more optimistic on its sales pipeline.

After the upgrade, the consensus from Editas Medicine's 16 analysts is for revenues of US$23m in 2024, which would reflect a perceptible 6.4% decline in sales compared to the last year of performance. Per-share losses are expected to creep up to US$2.46. However, before this estimates update, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$19m and US$2.50 per share in losses. So there's been quite a change-up of views after the recent consensus updates, withthe analysts noticeably increasing their revenue forecasts while also expecting losses per share to hold steady.

View our latest analysis for Editas Medicine

The consensus price target rose 7.4% to US$14.53, with the analysts encouraged by the improved revenue outlook even though the company remains lossmaking.

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. One more thing stood out to us about these estimates, and it's the idea that Editas Medicine's decline is expected to accelerate, with revenues forecast to fall at an annualised rate of 5.2% to the end of 2024. This tops off a historical decline of 4.1% a year over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 16% per year. So while a broad number of companies are forecast to grow, unfortunately Editas Medicine is expected to see its sales affected worse than other companies in the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that analysts reduced their loss per share estimates for next year, reflecting increased optimism around Editas Medicine's prospects. Pleasantly, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow slower than the wider market. There was also an increase in the price target, suggesting that there is more optimism baked into the forecasts than there was previously. Given that analysts appear to be expecting substantial improvement in the sales pipeline, now could be the right time to take another look at Editas Medicine.

These earnings upgrades look like a sterling endorsement, but before diving in - you should know that we've spotted 4 potential warning signs with Editas Medicine, including dilutive stock issuance over the past year. For more information, you can click through to our platform to learn more about this and the 3 other warning signs we've identified .

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 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.