NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- HealthEquity (HQY) - Get Report helps individuals make health care decisions on health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts and other products through its online platform. It is this niche, where health care meets tax benefits, that will help the company profit from its ties to the Affordable Care Act.

The 13-year-old company, which went public only a year ago, reports earnings Tuesday. Its shares trade around $25, down about 2% for the year to date. 

Those shares aren't cheap. At 131 times earnings, investors are paying more than six time the industry average for future profits. But investors should focus more on how HealthEquity makes money. HealthEquity manages such tax-advantaged accounts as health savings accounts, used by insureds to put aside funds to pay for deductibles. As the cost of health care rises, the ability to put money into these accounts should drive more traffic to HealthEquity's platform.

According to a recent survey by the National Business Group on Health, 32% of businesses said they will offer their employees some type of health savings account plan to their workers in 2015. This translates to a 10% increase from last year's survey. 

Earlier this month, analyst Steven Wardell of Leerink Partners LLC initiated coverage on HealthEquity's stock with an outperform rating, issuing a price target of $28. In a research note to investors, Wardell said,

"We anticipate that the 2015 benefits season, which HealthEquity will report on in its [fiscal 2014 fourth-quarter] results, will be a year for employers shifting health care benefit costs onto employees, directly benefiting Healthequity and helping the company meet our growth expectations [...] HealthEquity is at the center of a mega-trend in healthcare."

Wardell's optimism seems consistent with the other five brokers that cover HealthEquity's stock, which has a consensus buy rating, according toYahoo! Finance, and an average 12-month price target of $26.50, suggesting 6% gains from current levels. And that its lowest price target is $25 suggests the downside risk -- in the near term -- is minimal.

For the quarter ended January, analysts expect 3 cents pear share in earnings and revenue is projected to be $23.5 million. Full-year earnings is projected to be 20 cents per share on revenue of $86.5 million. 

Assuming HealthEquity does earn 20 cents for full-year 2015, this means earnings are expected to grow at 45% next year based on estimates of 29 cents per share for full-year 2016, while sales are projected to grow 35% to $117 million. 

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.