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We're Hopeful That Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT) Will Use Its Cash Wisely
There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. By way of example, Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT) has seen its share price rise 129% over the last year, delighting many shareholders. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?
Given its strong share price performance, we think it's worthwhile for Vaxart shareholders to consider whether its cash burn is concerning. In this article, we define cash burn as its annual (negative) free cash flow, which is the amount of money a company spends each year to fund its growth. The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its 'cash runway'.
Check out our latest analysis for Vaxart
Does Vaxart Have A Long Cash Runway?
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. When Vaxart last reported its balance sheet in March 2021, it had zero debt and cash worth US$171m. Importantly, its cash burn was US$39m over the trailing twelve months. Therefore, from March 2021 it had 4.4 years of cash runway. Notably, however, analysts think that Vaxart will break even (at a free cash flow level) before then. If that happens, then the length of its cash runway, today, would become a moot point. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.
How Well Is Vaxart Growing?
One thing for shareholders to keep front in mind is that Vaxart increased its cash burn by 226% in the last twelve months. And that is all the more of a concern in light of the fact that operating revenue was actually down by 78% in the last year, as the company no doubt scrambles to change its fortunes. Considering these two factors together makes us nervous about the direction the company seems to be heading. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.
How Easily Can Vaxart Raise Cash?
Vaxart seems to be in a fairly good position, in terms of cash burn, but we still think it's worthwhile considering how easily it could raise more money if it wanted to. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash and fund growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate).
Vaxart's cash burn of US$39m is about 4.4% of its US$880m 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.
Is Vaxart's Cash Burn A Worry?
Even though its increasing cash burn makes us a little nervous, we are compelled to mention that we thought Vaxart's cash runway was relatively promising. Shareholders can take heart from the fact that analysts are forecasting it will reach breakeven. Cash burning companies are always on the riskier side of things, but after considering all of the factors discussed in this short piece, we're not too worried about its rate of cash burn. On another note, Vaxart has 4 warning signs (and 1 which is concerning) we think you should know about.
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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What are the risks and opportunities for Vaxart?
Vaxart, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of oral recombinant protein vaccines based on its proprietary oral vaccine platform.
Rewards
Revenue is forecast to grow 61.41% per year
Risks
Has less than 1 year of cash runway
Makes less than USD$1m in revenue ($159K)
Shareholders have been diluted in the past year
Volatile share price over the past 3 months
Currently unprofitable and not forecast to become profitable over the next 3 years
Further research on
Vaxart
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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About NasdaqCM:VXRT
Vaxart
Vaxart, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of oral recombinant protein vaccines based on its proprietary oral vaccine platform.
Excellent balance sheet and slightly overvalued.
