Analyst Forecasts For Ocuphire Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUP) Are Surging Higher

Celebrations may be in order for Ocuphire Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUP) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. Consensus estimates suggest investors could expect greatly increased statutory revenues and earnings per share, with analysts modelling a real improvement in business performance.

Following the latest upgrade, the current consensus, from the four analysts covering Ocuphire Pharma, is for revenues of US$13m in 2024, which would reflect a substantial 23% reduction in Ocuphire Pharma's sales over the past 12 months. Per-share losses are expected to explode, reaching US$0.79 per share. Yet before this consensus update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$7.8m and losses of US$1.21 per share in 2024. So there's been quite a change-up of views after the recent consensus updates, with the analysts making a sizeable increase to their revenue forecasts while also reducing the estimated loss as the business grows towards breakeven.

See our latest analysis for Ocuphire Pharma

Despite these upgrades, the analysts have not made any major changes to their price target of US$16.75, implying that their latest estimates don't have a long term impact on what they think the stock is worth.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with a forecast 41% annualised revenue decline to the end of 2024. That is a notable change from historical growth of 67% over the last three years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 10% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Ocuphire Pharma is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The highlight for us was that the consensus reduced its estimated losses this year, perhaps suggesting Ocuphire Pharma is moving incrementally towards profitability. Pleasantly, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow slower than the wider market. The lack of change in the price target is puzzling, but with a serious upgrade to this year's earnings expectations, it might be time to take another look at Ocuphire Pharma.

That's a pretty serious upgrade, but shareholders might be even more pleased to know that forecasts expect Ocuphire Pharma to be able to reach break-even within the next few years. You can learn more about these forecasts, for 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 upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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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.