Cambridge Cognition Holdings Plc (LON:COG) Shares Could Be 47% Below Their Intrinsic Value Estimate

How far off is Cambridge Cognition Holdings Plc (LON:COG) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

Check out our latest analysis for Cambridge Cognition Holdings

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

	2023	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032
Levered FCF (£, Millions)	UK£894.5k	UK£700.0k	-UK£100.0k	UK£3.80m	UK£4.40m	UK£4.83m	UK£5.17m	UK£5.44m	UK£5.66m	UK£5.84m
Growth Rate Estimate Source	Analyst x2	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Analyst x1	Est @ 9.73%	Est @ 7.11%	Est @ 5.27%	Est @ 3.99%	Est @ 3.09%
Present Value (£, Millions) Discounted @ 7.2%	UK£0.8	UK£0.6	-UK£0.08	UK£2.9	UK£3.1	UK£3.2	UK£3.2	UK£3.1	UK£3.0	UK£2.9

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK£23m

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.0%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF₂₀₃₂ × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = UK£5.8m× (1 + 1.0%) ÷ (7.2%– 1.0%) = UK£94m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)¹⁰= UK£94m÷ ( 1 + 7.2%)¹⁰= UK£47m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is UK£70m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of UK£1.2, the company appears quite good value at a 47% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Cambridge Cognition Holdings as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.911. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Cambridge Cognition Holdings

Strength

• Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

• Currently debt free.

Weakness

• No major weaknesses identified for COG.

Opportunity

• Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the British market.

• Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

• Annual earnings are forecast to decline for the next 2 years.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For Cambridge Cognition Holdings, there are three essential elements you should look at:

1. Risks: For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Cambridge Cognition Holdings (1 is significant) you should be aware of.

2. Future Earnings: How does COG's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.

3. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every British stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

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