Chimerix, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRX): Are Analysts Optimistic?

With the business potentially at an important milestone, we thought we'd take a closer look at Chimerix, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CMRX) future prospects. Chimerix, Inc., a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on accelerating the advancement of various medicines that impact in the lives of patients living with cancer and other serious diseases. The company’s loss has recently broadened since it announced a US$44m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$131m, moving it further away from breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on Chimerix's investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. Below we will provide a high-level summary of the industry analysts’ expectations for the company.

See our latest analysis for Chimerix

According to the 5 industry analysts covering Chimerix, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2023, before turning a profit of US$20m in 2024. Therefore, the company is expected to breakeven roughly 3 years from today. What rate will the company have to grow year-on-year in order to breakeven on this date? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of 68%, which signals high confidence from analysts. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Underlying developments driving Chimerix's growth isn’t the focus of this broad overview, but, keep 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.

One thing we’d like to point out is that The company has managed its capital judiciously, with debt making up 10% of equity. This means that it has predominantly funded its operations from equity capital, and its low debt obligation reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

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

1. Valuation: What is Chimerix 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 Chimerix 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 Chimerix’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. 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.
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