Newsflash: Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLDR) Analysts Have Been Trimming Their Revenue Forecasts

Today is shaping up negative for Velodyne Lidar, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLDR) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a substantial negative revision to this year's forecasts. There was a fairly draconian cut to their revenue estimates, perhaps an implicit admission that previous forecasts were much too optimistic.

Following the latest downgrade, the seven analysts covering Velodyne Lidar provided consensus estimates of US$47m revenue in 2022, which would reflect a perceptible 7.5% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Losses are forecast to hold steady at around US$1.04. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$61m and losses of US$0.95 per share in 2022. 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.

View our latest analysis for Velodyne Lidar

The consensus price target fell 40% to US$2.71, with the analysts clearly concerned about the company following the weaker revenue and earnings outlook. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. The most optimistic Velodyne Lidar analyst has a price target of US$4.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$1.50. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that the analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for 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 also point out that the forecast 9.9% annualised revenue decline to the end of 2022 is better than the historical trend, which saw revenues shrink 48% annually over the past year Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the broader industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to grow 7.4% annually. So while a broad number of companies are forecast to grow, unfortunately Velodyne Lidar is expected to see its sales affected worse than other companies in the industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to note from this downgrade is that the consensus increased its forecast losses this year, suggesting all may not be well at Velodyne Lidar. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and the latest forecasts imply the business will grow sales slower than the wider market. Furthermore, there was a cut to the price target, suggesting that the latest news has led to more pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business. Often, one downgrade can set off a daisy-chain of cuts, especially if an industry is in decline. So we wouldn't be surprised if the market became a lot more cautious on Velodyne Lidar after today.

Still, the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Velodyne Lidar going out to 2024, and you can see them 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.