The Consensus EPS Estimates For uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) Just Fell Dramatically

Market forces rained on the parade of uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ:QURE) shareholders today, when the analysts downgraded their forecasts for this year. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) estimates were cut sharply as analysts factored in the latest outlook for the business, concluding that they were too optimistic previously. Shares are up 5.4% to US$16.87 in the past week. It will be interesting to see if this downgrade motivates investors to start selling their holdings.

Following the latest downgrade, the current consensus, from the 17 analysts covering uniQure, is for revenues of US$116m in 2022, which would reflect a stressful 78% reduction in uniQure's sales over the past 12 months. After this downgrade, the company is anticipated to report a loss of US$3.11 in 2022, a sharp decline from a profit over the last year. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$134m and losses of US$1.38 per share in 2022. So there's been quite a change-up of views after the recent consensus updates, with the analysts making a serious cut to their revenue forecasts while also expecting losses per share to increase.

View our latest analysis for uniQure

The consensus price target was broadly unchanged at €55.71, perhaps implicitly signalling that the weaker earnings outlook is not expected to have a long-term impact on the valuation. There's another way to think about price targets though, and that's to look at the range of price targets put forward by analysts, because a wide range of estimates could suggest a diverse view on possible outcomes for the business. Currently, the most bullish analyst values uniQure at €94.68 per share, while the most bearish prices it at €33.48. So we wouldn't be assigning too much credibility to analyst price targets in this case, because there are clearly some widely differing views on what kind of performance this business can generate. With this in mind, we wouldn't rely too heavily on the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the business.

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. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with a forecast 78% annualised revenue decline to the end of 2022. That is a notable change from historical growth of 80% 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 13% per year. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - uniQure is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts increased their loss per share estimates for this year. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and the latest forecasts imply the business will grow sales slower than the wider market. We're also surprised to see that the price target went unchanged. Still, deteriorating business conditions (assuming accurate forecasts!) can be a leading indicator for the stock price, so we wouldn't blame investors for being more cautious on uniQure after the downgrade.

There might be good reason for analyst bearishness towards uniQure, like dilutive stock issuance over the past year. Learn more, and discover the 3 other warning signs we've identified, 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 downgrading 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.