Last week, you might have seen that Immunocore Holdings plc (NASDAQ:IMCR) released its quarterly result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 2.1% to US$58.95 in the past week. Revenues came in 27% better than analyst models expected, at US$89m, although statutory losses ballooned 62% to US$0.62, which is much worse than what was forecast. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. We thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Immunocore Holdings' 16 analysts is for revenues of US$300.2m in 2024. This would reflect a solid 13% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Losses are forecast to balloon 47% to US$1.75 per share. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$289.5m and losses of US$1.56 per share in 2024. While this year's revenue estimates increased, there was also a notable increase in loss per share expectations, suggesting the consensus has a bit of a mixed view on the stock.

The consensus price target stayed unchanged at US$84.99, seeming to suggest that higher forecast losses are not expected to have a long term impact on the valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Immunocore Holdings analyst has a price target of US$100 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$67.16. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Immunocore Holdings' past performance and to peers in the same industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Immunocore Holdings' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 18% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 68% over the past three years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 19% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it looks like Immunocore Holdings is forecast to grow at about the same rate as the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts increased their loss per share estimates for next year. There was also an upgrade to revenue estimates, although as we saw earlier, forecast growth is only expected to be about the same as the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have forecasts for Immunocore Holdings going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Immunocore Holdings that you need to take into consideration.

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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.