C3.ai, Inc. (AI) has recently been on Zacks.com’s list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock’s performance in the near future.
Shares of this company have returned -18.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s -8.9% change. The Zacks Computers – IT Services industry, to which C3.ai belongs, has lost 9.8% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?
While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company’s business prospects usually make its stock ‘trending’ and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.
Rather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company’s earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock’s fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, C3.ai is expected to post a loss of $0.20 per share, indicating a change of -81.8% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of -$0.45 points to a change of +4.3% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has remained unchanged.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of -$0.46 indicates a change of -3.9% from what C3.ai is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has remained unchanged.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock’s price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, C3.ai is rated Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Story Continues
The chart below shows the evolution of the company’s forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12-month consensus EPS estimate for AI _12MonthEPSChartUrl
Even though a company’s earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It’s almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company’s potential revenue growth is crucial.
In the case of C3.ai, the consensus sales estimate of $108.31 million for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +25.1%. The $388.39 million and $475.24 million estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +29.7% and +22.4%, respectively.
C3.ai reported revenues of $98.78 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +26%. EPS of -$0.12 for the same period compares with -$0.13 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $97.97 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +0.83%. The EPS surprise was +52%.
The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
No investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock’s valuation. Whether a stock’s current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company’s growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.
While comparing the current values of a company’s valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S) and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock’s price.
As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
C3.ai is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
The facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it’s worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about C3.ai. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
