It's been a good week for Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest yearly results, and the shares gained 4.8% to US$143. The result was positive overall - although revenues of US$4.1b were in line with what the analysts predicted, Jazz Pharmaceuticals surprised by delivering a statutory profit of US$8.65 per share, modestly greater than expected. 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. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Jazz Pharmaceuticals' 19 analysts is for revenues of US$4.30b in 2025. This would reflect a modest 5.7% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to rise 2.5% to US$9.45. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$4.34b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$9.91 in 2025. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the minor downgrade to their earnings per share numbers for next year.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at US$188, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on 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. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Jazz Pharmaceuticals at US$230 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$145. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

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. We would highlight that Jazz Pharmaceuticals' revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 5.7% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 14% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 8.6% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$188, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Keeping that in mind, we still think that the longer term trajectory of the business is much more important for investors to consider. We have forecasts for Jazz Pharmaceuticals going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

It is also worth noting that we have found 2 warning signs for Jazz Pharmaceuticals 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.