Market forces rained on the parade of Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXDX) shareholders today, when the analysts downgraded their forecasts for this year. This report focused on revenue estimates, and it looks as though the consensus view of the business has become substantially more conservative.

After this downgrade, Accelerate Diagnostics' five analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$16m in 2021. This would be a huge 47% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. The loss per share is expected to ameliorate slightly, reducing to US$1.30. Yet before this consensus update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$22m and losses of US$1.24 per share in 2021. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Accelerate Diagnostics

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. The period to the end of 2021 brings more of the same, according to the analysts, with revenue forecast to display 47% growth on an annualised basis. That is in line with its 51% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 8.8% annually. So although Accelerate Diagnostics is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than 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. While analysts did downgrade their revenue estimates, these forecasts still imply revenues will perform better than the wider market. Given the stark change in sentiment, we'd understand if investors became more cautious on Accelerate Diagnostics after today.

There might be good reason for analyst bearishness towards Accelerate Diagnostics, 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.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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