Stock Analysis

The Consensus EPS Estimates For Verb Technology Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERB) Just Fell Dramatically

NasdaqCM:VERB
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The latest analyst coverage could presage a bad day for Verb Technology Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERB), with the analysts making across-the-board cuts to their statutory estimates that might leave shareholders a little shell-shocked. Revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts were both revised downwards, with the analysts seeing grey clouds on the horizon.

After this downgrade, Verb Technology Company's dual analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$12m in 2022. This would be a notable 14% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Per-share losses are expected to creep up to US$0.28. However, before this estimates update, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$16m and US$0.25 per share in losses. Ergo, there's been a clear change in sentiment, with the analysts administering a notable cut to this year's revenue estimates, while at the same time increasing their loss per share forecasts.

Check out our latest analysis for Verb Technology Company

earnings-and-revenue-growth
NasdaqCM:VERB Earnings and Revenue Growth August 24th 2022

The consensus price target lifted 11% to US$3.25, clearly signalling that the weaker revenue and EPS outlook are not expected to weigh on the stock over the longer term. 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 Verb Technology Company at US$4.50 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$2.25. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that Verb Technology Company's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 30% annualised growth rate until the end of 2022 being well below the historical 49% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 13% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while Verb Technology Company's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's still expected to grow faster than the industry itself.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts increased their loss per share estimates for this year. While analysts did downgrade their revenue estimates, these forecasts still imply revenues will perform better than the wider market. The increasing price target is not intuitively what we would expect to see, given these downgrades, and we'd suggest shareholders revisit their investment thesis before making a decision.

There might be good reason for analyst bearishness towards Verb Technology Company, like major dilution from new stock issuance in the past year. Learn more, and discover the 3 other flags 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.