There's been a notable change in appetite for Zai Lab Limited (NASDAQ:ZLAB) shares in the week since its quarterly report, with the stock down 13% to US$26.67. Revenues of US$102m arrived in line with expectations, although statutory losses per share were US$0.42, an impressive 46% smaller than what broker models predicted. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on Zai Lab after the latest results.
View our latest analysis for Zai Lab
Following the latest results, Zai Lab's 15 analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$584.5m in 2025. This would be a major 64% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 36% to US$1.77. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$582.4m and losses of US$1.88 per share in 2025. So there seems to have been a moderate uplift in analyst sentiment with the latest consensus release, given the upgrade to loss per share forecasts for next year.
The average price target held steady at US$51.81, seeming to indicate that business is performing in line with expectations. 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 Zai Lab, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$72.00 and the most bearish at US$25.00 per share. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Zai Lab's past performance and to peers in the same industry. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Zai Lab'shistorical trends, as the 49% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 45% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 22% annually. So it's pretty clear that Zai Lab is forecast to grow substantially faster than its industry.
The most obvious conclusion is that the analysts made no changes to their forecasts for a loss next year. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than 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.
With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Zai Lab. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Zai Lab going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..
You can also see our analysis of Zai Lab's Board and CEO remuneration and experience, and whether company insiders have been buying stock.
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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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