Shareholders might have noticed that Azenta, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZTA) filed its full-year result this time last week. The early response was not positive, with shares down 7.3% to US$41.51 in the past week. Revenues came in at US$656m, in line with forecasts and the company reported a statutory loss of US$3.09 per share, roughly in line with expectations. 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. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

See our latest analysis for Azenta

Taking into account the latest results, the six analysts covering Azenta provided consensus estimates of US$610.7m revenue in 2025, which would reflect a small 6.9% decline over the past 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 84% to US$0.58. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$712.3m and US$0.58 per share in losses. So there's definitely been a change in sentiment in this update, with the analysts administering a substantial haircut to next year's revenue estimates, while at the same time holding losses per share steady.

The average price target fell 7.2% to US$56.60, with the analysts clearly concerned about the weaker revenue outlook and expectation of ongoing losses. 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 Azenta analyst has a price target of US$79.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$48.00. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.

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. These estimates imply that revenue is expected to slow, with a forecast annualised decline of 6.9% by the end of 2025. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 5.0% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 6.5% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Azenta is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts reconfirmed their loss per share estimates for next year. Unfortunately, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and our data indicates underperformance compared to the wider industry. Even so, earnings per share are more important to the intrinsic value of the business. The consensus price target fell measurably, with the analysts seemingly not reassured by the latest results, leading to a lower estimate of Azenta's future valuation.

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 Azenta going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another thing to consider is whether management and directors have been buying or selling stock recently. We provide an overview of all open market stock trades for the last twelve months on our platform, here.

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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.