When Will Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) Turn A Profit?

Precigen, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGEN) is possibly approaching a major achievement in its business, so we would like to shine some light on the company. Precigen, Inc. operates as a discovery and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops gene and cell therapies using precision technology to target diseases in therapeutic areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. The US$259m market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$96m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$135m leading to an even wider gap between loss and breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on Precigen's 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.

View our latest analysis for Precigen

According to the 5 industry analysts covering Precigen, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2025, before generating positive profits of US$71m in 2026. The company is therefore projected to breakeven around 2 years from now. 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 64% year-on-year, on average, which is extremely buoyant. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won’t go into details of Precigen's upcoming projects, however, keep in mind that typically biotechs, depending on the stage of product development, have irregular periods of cash flow. So, a high growth rate is not out of the ordinary, particularly when a company is in a period of investment.

Before we wrap up, there’s one aspect worth mentioning. Precigen currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is quite unusual for a cash-burning biotech, which usually has a high level of debt relative to its equity. The company currently operates purely off its shareholder funding and has no debt obligation, reducing concerns around repayments and making it a less risky investment.

Next Steps:

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

1. Valuation: What is Precigen 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 Precigen 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 Precigen’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. 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.