One thing we could say about the analysts on Theravance Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:TBPH) - they aren't optimistic, having just made a major negative revision to their near-term (statutory) forecasts for the organization. Revenue and earnings per share (EPS) forecasts were both revised downwards, with analysts seeing grey clouds on the horizon. Surprisingly the share price has been buoyant, rising 12% to US$10.22 in the past 7 days. With such a sharp increase, it seems brokers may have seen something that is not yet being priced in by the wider market.

Following the downgrade, the most recent consensus for Theravance Biopharma from its seven analysts is for revenues of US$55m in 2022 which, if met, would be a modest 5.7% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. The loss per share is anticipated to greatly reduce in the near future, narrowing 25% to US$0.99. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$97m and losses of US$0.65 per share in 2022. Ergo, there's been a clear change in sentiment, with the analysts administering a notable cut to this year's revenue estimates, while at the same time increasing their loss per share forecasts.

See our latest analysis for Theravance Biopharma

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We would highlight that Theravance Biopharma's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 12% annualised growth rate until the end of 2022 being well below the historical 15% p.a. growth over the last five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 3.6% per year. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Theravance Biopharma is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to note from this downgrade is that the consensus increased its forecast losses this year, suggesting all may not be well at Theravance Biopharma. Unfortunately, analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, although our data indicates revenues are expected to perform better than the wider market. After a cut like that, investors could be forgiven for thinking analysts are a lot more bearish on Theravance Biopharma, and a few readers might choose to steer clear of the stock.

As you can see, the analysts clearly aren't bullish, and there might be good reason for that. We've identified some potential issues with Theravance Biopharma's financials, such as recent substantial insider selling. For more information, you can click here to discover this and the 3 other concerns we've identified.

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.

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