We Might See A Profit From Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATRA) Soon

We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ATRA) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. engages in the development of transformative therapies for patients with cancer and autoimmune disease in the United States and the United Kingdom. The US$50m market-cap company’s loss lessened since it announced a US$85m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$16m, as it approaches breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on Atara Biotherapeutics' investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

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Atara Biotherapeutics is bordering on breakeven, according to the 3 American Biotechs analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2024, before generating positive profits of US$27m in 2025. So, the company is predicted to breakeven approximately 12 months from now or less. How fast will the company have to grow to reach the consensus forecasts that anticipate breakeven by 2025? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 58% year-on-year, on average, which signals high confidence from analysts. If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, the company may become profitable much later than analysts predict.

We're not going to go through company-specific developments for Atara Biotherapeutics given that this is a high-level summary, though, take into account that generally a biotech has lumpy cash flows which are contingent on the product type and stage of development the company is in. This means, large upcoming growth rates are not abnormal as the company is beginning to reap the benefits of earlier investments.

See our latest analysis for Atara Biotherapeutics

One thing we would like to bring into light with Atara Biotherapeutics is it currently has negative equity on its balance sheet. Accounting methods used to deal with losses accumulated over time can cause this to occur. This is because liabilities are carried forward into the future until it cancels. These losses tend to occur only on paper, however, in other cases it can be forewarning.

Next Steps:

This article is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis on Atara Biotherapeutics, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at Atara Biotherapeutics' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of key aspects you should further examine:

1. Historical Track Record: What has Atara Biotherapeutics' performance been like over the past? Go into more detail in the past track record analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of our analysis for more clarity.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Atara Biotherapeutics' 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.