Market Sentiment Around Loss-Making BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX)

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) is possibly approaching a major achievement in its business, so we would like to shine some light on the company. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The US$1.5b market-cap company’s loss lessened since it announced a US$227m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$124m, as it approaches breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate.

See our latest analysis for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is bordering on breakeven, according to the 10 American Biotechs analysts. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2025, before turning a profit of US$74m in 2026. The company is therefore projected to breakeven around 2 years from today. How fast will the company have to grow each year in order to reach the breakeven point by 2026? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 73% year-on-year, on average, which is extremely buoyant. If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, the company may become profitable much later than analysts predict.

Underlying developments driving BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' growth isn’t the focus of this broad overview, though, bear in mind that typically biotechs, depending on the stage of product development, have irregular periods of cash flow. This means, large upcoming growth rates are not abnormal as the company is beginning to reap the benefits of earlier investments.

Before we wrap up, there’s one issue worth mentioning. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals 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. Oftentimes, losses exist only on paper but other times, it can be a red flag.

Next Steps:

There are key fundamentals of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals which are not covered in this article, but we must stress again that this is merely a basic overview. For a more comprehensive look at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, take a look at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of important factors you should look at:

1. Valuation: What is BioCryst Pharmaceuticals 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 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals 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 BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’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.

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.