We're Interested To See How Merrimack Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MACK) Uses Its Cash Hoard To Grow

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 Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?

So should Merrimack Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MACK) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purposes of this article, cash burn is the annual rate at which an unprofitable company spends cash to fund its growth; its negative free cash flow. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.

View our latest analysis for Merrimack Pharmaceuticals

Does Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Have A Long Cash Runway?

You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. In March 2021, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals had US$14m in cash, and was debt-free. Importantly, its cash burn was US$4.3m over the trailing twelve months. Therefore, from March 2021 it had 3.2 years of cash runway. There's no doubt that this is a reassuringly long runway. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.

How Is Merrimack Pharmaceuticals' Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Because Merrimack Pharmaceuticals isn't currently generating revenue, we consider it an early-stage business. Nonetheless, we can still examine its cash burn trajectory as part of our assessment of its cash burn situation. The 66% reduction in its cash burn over the last twelve months may be good for protecting the balance sheet but it hardly points to imminent growth. Admittedly, we're a bit cautious of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals due to its lack of significant operating revenues. So we'd generally prefer stocks from this list of stocks that have analysts forecasting growth.

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

There's no doubt Merrimack Pharmaceuticals' rapidly reducing cash burn brings comfort, but even if it's only hypothetical, it's always worth asking how easily it could raise more money to fund further growth. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals' cash burn of US$4.3m is about 5.1% of its US$84m market capitalisation. Given that is a rather small percentage, it would probably be really easy for the company to fund another year's growth by issuing some new shares to investors, or even by taking out a loan.

How Risky Is Merrimack Pharmaceuticals' Cash Burn Situation?

It may already be apparent to you that we're relatively comfortable with the way Merrimack Pharmaceuticals is burning through its cash. For example, we think its cash runway suggests that the company is on a good path. But it's fair to say that its cash burn relative to its market cap was also very reassuring. 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. An in-depth examination of risks revealed 2 warning signs for Merrimack Pharmaceuticals that readers should think about before committing capital to this stock.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies insiders are buying, 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. 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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