We're Not Worried About Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:ARWR) Cash Burn

Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. But the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt.

So, the natural question for Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. For the purpose of this article, we'll define cash burn as the amount of cash the company is spending each year to fund its growth (also called its negative free cash flow). We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

Check out the opportunities and risks within the US Biotechs industry.

How Long Is Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. When Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals last reported its balance sheet in June 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth US$416m. In the last year, its cash burn was US$120m. Therefore, from June 2022 it had 3.5 years of cash runway. A runway of this length affords the company the time and space it needs to develop the business. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

Is Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' Revenue Growing?

Given that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals actually had positive free cash flow last year, before burning cash this year, we'll focus on its operating revenue to get a measure of the business trajectory. Happily for shareholders, the revenue is up a stonking 132% over the last year. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.

How Hard Would It Be For Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals To Raise More Cash For Growth?

There's no doubt Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' revenue growth is impressive but even if it's only hypothetical, it's always worth asking how easily it could raise more money to fund further growth. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.

Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals has a market capitalisation of US$3.5b and burnt through US$120m last year, which is 3.4% of the company's market value. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money.

Is Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals' Cash Burn A Worry?

It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is burning through its cash. For example, we think its revenue growth suggests that the company is on a good path. And even its cash burn relative to its market cap was very encouraging. After considering a range of factors in this article, we're pretty relaxed about its cash burn, since the company seems to be in a good position to continue to fund its growth. While it's important to consider hard data like the metrics discussed above, many investors would also be interested to note that Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals insiders have been trading shares in the company. Click here to find out if they have been buying or selling.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

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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.