Shareholders of Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited (HKG:1833) will be pleased this week, given that the stock price is up 13% to HK$13.14 following its latest full-year results. It looks like weak result overall, with ongoing losses and revenues of CN¥4.7b falling short of analyst predictions. The losses were a relative bright spot though, with a per-share (statutory) loss of CN¥0.30 being 27% smaller than what the analysts had presumed. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

Taking into account the latest results, the most recent consensus for Ping An Healthcare and Technology from 16 analysts is for revenues of CN¥5.76b in 2024. If met, it would imply a sizeable 23% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 30% to CN¥0.20. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of CN¥6.06b and CN¥0.18 per share in losses. So it's pretty clear the analysts have mixed opinions on Ping An Healthcare and Technology after this update; revenues were downgraded and per-share losses expected to increase.

The consensus price target fell 10% to HK$19.10, with the analysts clearly concerned about the company following the weaker revenue and earnings outlook. 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 Ping An Healthcare and Technology, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at HK$35.30 and the most bearish at HK$10.00 per share. We would probably assign less value to the analyst forecasts in this situation, because such a wide range of estimates could imply that the future of this business is difficult to value accurately. With this in mind, we wouldn't rely too heavily the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the business.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's clear from the latest estimates that Ping An Healthcare and Technology's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 23% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 5.2% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 14% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Ping An Healthcare and Technology is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts increased their loss per share estimates for next year. They also downgraded Ping An Healthcare and Technology's revenue estimates, but industry data suggests that it is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. We have forecasts for Ping An Healthcare and Technology going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

We also provide an overview of the Ping An Healthcare and Technology Board and CEO remuneration and length of tenure at the company, and whether insiders have been buying the stock, here.

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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.