Solazyme Inc (SZYM): What Happened?

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ:SZYM) whiffed on revenues and exceeded expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue shrank significantly. Non-GAAP loss per share grew. GAAP loss per share increased.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ:SZYM) notched revenue of $6.7 million. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $8.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 51% lower than the prior-year quarter’s $13.6 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at -$0.35. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted -$0.39 per share. Non-GAAP EPS were -$0.35 for Q1 against -$0.28 per share for the prior-year quarter. GAAP EPS were -$0.43 for Q1 versus -$0.28 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 78.2%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -349.7%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -397.1%, much worse than the prior-year quarter. (Margins calculated in GAAP terms.)

Looking ahead
Next quarter’s average estimate for revenue is $11.1 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is -$0.36.

Next year’s average estimate for revenue is $55.1 million. The average EPS estimate is -$1.32.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 383 members out of 401 rating the stock outperform, and 18 members rating it underperform. Among 78 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 70 give Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ:SZYM) a green thumbs-up, and eight give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Solazyme Inc (NASDAQ:SZYM) is outperform, with an average price target of $15.32.

The article Solazyme Whiffs on Revenues originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Seth Jayson.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Solazyme.

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