The analysts covering Crystal Clear Electronic Material Co., Ltd. (SZSE:300655) delivered a dose of negativity to shareholders today, by making a substantial revision to their statutory forecasts for this year. Both revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts went under the knife, suggesting analysts have soured majorly on the business.

Following the downgrade, the latest consensus from Crystal Clear Electronic Material's dual analysts is for revenues of CN¥2.3b in 2022, which would reflect a major 22% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 35% to CN¥0.39. Before this latest update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of CN¥2.7b and earnings per share (EPS) of CN¥0.46 in 2022. It looks like analyst sentiment has declined substantially, with a substantial drop in revenue estimates and a real cut to earnings per share numbers as well.

Check out our latest analysis for Crystal Clear Electronic Material

The average price target climbed 21% to CN¥27.25 despite the reduced earnings forecasts, suggesting that this earnings impact could be a positive for the stock, once it passes. 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Crystal Clear Electronic Material at CN¥30.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at CN¥24.50. The narrow spread of estimates could suggest that the business' future is relatively easy to value, or that the analysts have a clear view on its prospects.

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. It's clear from the latest estimates that Crystal Clear Electronic Material's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 48% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2022 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 27% p.a. over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to grow their revenue at 18% per year. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Crystal Clear Electronic Material to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts cut their earnings per share estimates, expecting a clear decline in business conditions. While analysts did downgrade their revenue estimates, these forecasts still imply revenues will perform better than the wider market. The rising price target is a puzzle, but still - with a serious cut to this year's outlook, we wouldn't be surprised if investors were a bit wary of Crystal Clear Electronic Material.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At least one analyst has provided forecasts out to 2024, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies 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.