Celebrations may be in order for Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ:ADAP) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. Consensus estimates suggest investors could expect greatly increased statutory revenues and earnings per share, with analysts modelling a real improvement in business performance. Adaptimmune Therapeutics has also found favour with investors, with the stock up an incredible 57% to US$2.51 over the past week. It will be interesting to see if today's upgrade is enough to propel the stock even higher.

Following the upgrade, the most recent consensus for Adaptimmune Therapeutics from its six analysts is for revenues of US$33m in 2023 which, if met, would be a major 85% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 23% to US$0.83. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$28m and losses of US$0.92 per share in 2023. We can see there's definitely been a change in sentiment in this update, with the analysts administering a sizeable upgrade to next year's revenue estimates, while at the same time reducing their loss estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for Adaptimmune Therapeutics

There was no major change to the consensus price target of US$5.10, perhaps suggesting that the analysts remain concerned about ongoing losses despite the improved earnings and revenue outlook. 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 Adaptimmune Therapeutics analyst has a price target of US$10.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$1.50. We would probably assign less value to the 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 on the consensus price target, as it is just an average and analysts clearly have some deeply divergent views on the business.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. For example, we noticed that Adaptimmune Therapeutics' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with revenues forecast to exhibit 64% growth to the end of 2023 on an annualised basis. That is well above its historical decline of 46% a year over the past five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 14% per year. So it looks like Adaptimmune Therapeutics is expected to grow faster than its competitors, at least for a while.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing here is that analysts reduced their loss per share estimates for next year, reflecting increased optimism around Adaptimmune Therapeutics' prospects. Fortunately, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates sales are expected to perform better than the wider market. Some investors might be disappointed to see that the price target is unchanged, but we feel that improving fundamentals are usually a positive - assuming these forecasts are met! So Adaptimmune Therapeutics could be a good candidate for more research.

Analysts are clearly in love with Adaptimmune Therapeutics at the moment, but before diving in - you should be aware that we've identified some warning flags with the business, such as dilutive stock issuance over the past year. For more information, you can click through to our platform to learn more about this and the 3 other warning signs 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 upgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks 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.

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