Analyst Forecasts For Pyxis Tankers Inc. (NASDAQ:PXS) Are Surging Higher

Celebrations may be in order for Pyxis Tankers Inc. (NASDAQ:PXS) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. The consensus statutory numbers for both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) increased, with their view clearly much more bullish on the company's business prospects. The market seems to be pricing in some improvement in the business too, with the stock up 9.3% over the past week, closing at US$2.71. Whether the upgrade is enough to drive the stock price higher is yet to be seen, however.

After the upgrade, the three analysts covering Pyxis Tankers are now predicting revenues of US$34m in 2022. If met, this would reflect a sizeable 32% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Losses are expected to turn into profits real soon, with the analysts forecasting US$0.72 in per-share earnings. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$30m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.48 in 2022. There has definitely been an improvement in perception recently, with the analysts substantially increasing both their earnings and revenue estimates.

View our latest analysis for Pyxis Tankers

As a result, it might be a surprise to see that the analysts have cut their price target 14% to US$4.63, which could suggest the forecast improvement in performance is not expected to last. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Pyxis Tankers, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$6.00 and the most bearish at US$3.40 per share. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Pyxis Tankers shareholders.

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. For example, we noticed that Pyxis Tankers' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 45% growth to the end of 2022 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 6.8% a year over the past five years. What's also interesting is that our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenue decline 5.3% annually for the foreseeable future. So it's pretty clear that Pyxis Tankers is expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us from these new estimates is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, with improved earnings power expected for this year. On the plus side, they also lifted their revenue estimates, and the company is expected to perform better than the wider market. The declining price target is a puzzle, but still - with a serious upgrade to this year's expectations, it might be time to take another look at Pyxis Tankers.

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 Pyxis Tankers 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 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.