The analysts covering Precision BioSciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTIL) delivered a dose of negativity to shareholders today, by making a substantial revision to their statutory forecasts for this year. This report focused on revenue estimates, and it looks as though the consensus view of the business has become substantially more conservative.

Following the latest downgrade, the five analysts covering Precision BioSciences provided consensus estimates of US$13m revenue in 2026, which would reflect a sizeable 72% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Per-share losses are expected to explode, reaching US$2.96 per share. Yet prior to the latest estimates, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$19m and losses of US$2.77 per share in 2026. Ergo, there's been a clear change in sentiment, with the analysts administering a notable cut to this year's revenue estimates, while at the same time increasing their loss per share forecasts.

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. Over the past five years, revenues have declined around 18% annually. Worse, forecasts are essentially predicting the decline to accelerate, with the estimate for an annualised 81% decline in revenue until the end of 2026. Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the broader industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to grow 22% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while it does have declining revenues, the analysts also expect Precision BioSciences to suffer worse than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that analysts increased their loss per share estimates for this year. Regrettably, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and the latest forecasts imply the business will grow sales slower than the wider market. Overall, given the drastic downgrade to this year's forecasts, we'd be feeling a little more wary of Precision BioSciences going forwards.

That said, the analysts might have good reason to be negative on Precision BioSciences, given major dilution from new stock issuance in the past year. Learn more, and discover the 1 other flag we've identified, for free on our platform here.

Of course, seeing company management invest large sums of money in a stock can be just as useful as knowing whether analysts are downgrading their estimates. So you may also wish to search this free list of stocks with high insider ownership.

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.