We Might See A Profit From AC Immune SA (NASDAQ:ACIU) Soon

AC Immune SA (NASDAQ:ACIU) is possibly approaching a major achievement in its business, so we would like to shine some light on the company. AC Immune SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, designs, and develops medicines and diagnostic products for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein misfolding. The company’s loss has recently broadened since it announced a CHF54m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of CHF55m, moving it further away from breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is AC Immune's path to profitability – when will it breakeven? In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

View our latest analysis for AC Immune

According to the 4 industry analysts covering AC Immune, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2023, before generating positive profits of CHF14m in 2024. Therefore, the company is expected to breakeven roughly a year from now or less! At what rate will the company have to grow in order to realise the consensus estimates forecasting breakeven in under 12 months? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of -23%,

Given this is a high-level overview, we won’t go into details of AC Immune's upcoming projects, though, take into account that typically a biotech has lumpy cash flows which are contingent on the product type and stage of development the company is in. This means that a low or volatile growth rate in the near future is not unusual, especially if the company is currently in an investment period.

Before we wrap up, there’s one aspect worth mentioning. AC Immune currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is quite unusual for a cash-burning biotech, which usually has a high level of debt relative to its equity. This means that the company has been operating purely on its equity investment and has no debt burden. This aspect reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

There are too many aspects of AC Immune to cover in one brief article, but the key fundamentals for the company can all be found in one place – AC Immune's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of key factors you should further research:

1. Valuation: What is AC Immune worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether AC Immune is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on AC Immune’s board and the CEO’s background.
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

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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.

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