NextGen Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXGN) just released its first-quarter report and things are looking bullish. It was overall a positive result, with revenues beating expectations by 2.7% to hit US$178m. NextGen Healthcare reported statutory earnings per share (EPS) US$0.09, which was a notable 16% above what the analysts had forecast. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
View our latest analysis for NextGen Healthcare
After the latest results, the eight analysts covering NextGen Healthcare are now predicting revenues of US$718.6m in 2024. If met, this would reflect a reasonable 6.0% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to leap 1,807% to US$0.67. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$717.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.57 in 2024. There was no real change to the revenue estimates, but the analysts do seem more bullish on earnings, given the nice gain to earnings per share expectations following these results.
The consensus price target was unchanged at US$20.00, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. Currently, the most bullish analyst values NextGen Healthcare at US$25.00 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$16.00. 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.
One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. The analysts are definitely expecting NextGen Healthcare's growth to accelerate, with the forecast 8.0% annualised growth to the end of 2024 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 4.6% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to see revenue growth of 12% annually. So it's clear that despite the acceleration in growth, NextGen Healthcare is expected to grow meaningfully slower than the industry average.