Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) defied analyst predictions to release its first-quarter results, which were ahead of market expectations. Boston Scientific beat earnings, with revenues hitting US$3.9b, ahead of expectations, and statutory earnings per share outperforming analyst reckonings by a solid 11%. 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 gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

After the latest results, the 30 analysts covering Boston Scientific are now predicting revenues of US$16.0b in 2024. If met, this would reflect a solid 8.7% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to grow 20% to US$1.44. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$15.6b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.38 in 2024. So there seems to have been a moderate uplift in sentiment following the latest results, given the upgrades to both revenue and earnings per share forecasts for next year.

It will come as no surprise to learn that the analysts have increased their price target for Boston Scientific 8.6% to US$79.72on the back of these upgrades. 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. There are some variant perceptions on Boston Scientific, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$90.00 and the most bearish at US$70.00 per share. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. It's clear from the latest estimates that Boston Scientific's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 12% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 7.9% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 8.0% annually. It seems obvious that, while the growth outlook is brighter than the recent past, the analysts also expect Boston Scientific to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest takeaway for us is the consensus earnings per share upgrade, which suggests a clear improvement in sentiment around Boston Scientific's earnings potential next year. Pleasantly, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow faster than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Boston Scientific. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Boston Scientific going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here.

However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Boston Scientific that you should be aware of.

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