We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:BCRX) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The US$1.5b market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$227m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$124m shrinking the gap between loss and breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate.

According to the 10 industry analysts covering BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2025, before turning a profit of US$48m in 2026. So, the company is predicted to breakeven approximately 2 years from now. In order to meet this breakeven date, we calculated the rate at which the company must grow year-on-year. It turns out an average annual growth rate of 73% is expected, which is extremely buoyant. If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, the company may become profitable much later than analysts predict.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won't go into details of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' upcoming projects, though, bear in mind that generally biotechs, depending on the stage of product development, have irregular periods of cash flow. This means that a high growth rate is not unusual, especially if the company is currently in an investment period.

Before we wrap up, there's one issue worth mentioning. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals currently has negative equity on its balance sheet. This can sometimes arise from accounting methods used to deal with accumulated losses from prior years, which are viewed as liabilities carried forward until it cancels out in the future. Oftentimes, losses exist only on paper but other times, it can be a red flag.

Next Steps:

There are key fundamentals of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals which are not covered in this article, but we must stress again that this is merely a basic overview. For a more comprehensive look at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, take a look at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of key factors you should look at:

1. Valuation: What is BioCryst 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 BioCryst 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 BioCryst 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.