Investors in Livongo Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:LVGO) had a good week, as its shares rose 8.5% to close at US$24.47 following the release of its annual results. Sales hit US$170m in line with forecasts, although the company reported a statutory loss per share of US$1.08 that was somewhat smaller than the analysts expected. 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 thought readers would find it interesting to see the analysts latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Livongo Health

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Livongo Health's eight analysts is for revenues of US$283.9m in 2020, which would reflect a sizeable 67% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Losses are predicted to fall substantially, shrinking 54% to US$0.49. Before this latest report, the consensus had been expecting revenues of US$283.7m and US$0.49 per share in losses.

As a result there was no major change to the consensus price target of US$39.88, implying that the business is trading roughly in line with expectations despite 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 Livongo Health analyst has a price target of US$46.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$30.00. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We would highlight that Livongo Health's revenue growth is expected to slow, with forecast 67% increase next year well below the historical 149% growth over the last year. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the industry with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 15% next year. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Livongo Health is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that the analysts made no changes to their forecasts for a loss next year. Fortunately, they also reconfirmed their revenue numbers, suggesting sales are tracking in line with expectations - and our data suggests that revenues are expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$39.88, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Livongo Health. 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 Livongo Health going out to 2022, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Before you take the next step you should know about the 2 warning signs for Livongo Health that we have uncovered.

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