With the business potentially at an important milestone, we thought we'd take a closer look at Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AGIO) future prospects. Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops medicines in the field of cellular metabolism in the United States. The company's loss has recently broadened since it announced a US$352m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$353m, moving it further away from breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is Agios Pharmaceuticals' path to profitability – when will it breakeven? We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate.

Agios Pharmaceuticals is bordering on breakeven, according to the 8 American Biotechs analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2023, before generating positive profits of US$128m in 2024. The company is therefore projected to breakeven around 12 months from now or less. At what rate will the company have to grow in order to realise the consensus estimates forecasting breakeven in under 12 months? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of 14%, which seems relatively fair. However, if this rate turns out to be too buoyant, the company may become profitable later than analysts predict.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won't go into details of Agios Pharmaceuticals' upcoming projects, but, keep in mind that generally biotechs, depending on the stage of product development, have irregular periods of cash flow. This means, a double-digit growth rate is not abnormal as the company is beginning to reap the benefits of earlier investments.

Before we wrap up, there's one aspect worth mentioning. Agios Pharmaceuticals currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is quite unusual for a cash-burning biotech, which typically has high 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:

There are too many aspects of Agios Pharmaceuticals to cover in one brief article, but the key fundamentals for the company can all be found in one place – Agios Pharmaceuticals' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of relevant aspects you should look at:

1. Valuation: What is Agios Pharmaceuticals 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 Agios Pharmaceuticals 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 Agios Pharmaceuticals'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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com