Is CytomX Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CTMX) In A Good Position To Invest In Growth?

We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. But the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt.

Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether CytomX Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CTMX) shareholders should be worried about its cash burn. In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. Let's start with an examination of the business' cash, relative to its cash burn.

See our latest analysis for CytomX Therapeutics

When Might CytomX Therapeutics Run Out Of Money?

A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. As at September 2021, CytomX Therapeutics had cash of US$236m and no debt. In the last year, its cash burn was US$107m. That means it had a cash runway of about 2.2 years as of September 2021. Arguably, that's a prudent and sensible length of runway to have. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Well Is CytomX Therapeutics Growing?

It was quite stunning to see that CytomX Therapeutics increased its cash burn by 1,044% over the last year. While that's concerning on it's own, the fact that operating revenue was actually down 28% over the same period makes us positively tremulous. Considering these two factors together makes us nervous about the direction the company seems to be heading. 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 CytomX Therapeutics To Raise More Cash For Growth?

Since CytomX Therapeutics can't yet boast improving growth metrics, the market will likely be considering how it can raise more cash if need be. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive 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.

CytomX Therapeutics' cash burn of US$107m is about 35% of its US$303m market capitalisation. That's fairly notable cash burn, so if the company had to sell shares to cover the cost of another year's operations, shareholders would suffer some costly dilution.

So, Should We Worry About CytomX Therapeutics' Cash Burn?

On this analysis of CytomX Therapeutics' cash burn, we think its cash runway was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. Summing up, we think the CytomX Therapeutics' cash burn is a risk, based on the factors we mentioned in this article. Taking a deeper dive, we've spotted 4 warning signs for CytomX Therapeutics you should be aware of, and 1 of them doesn't sit too well with us.

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.