We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:RCKT) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-platform biotechnology company that focuses on developing gene therapies for rare and devastating diseases. The US$2.7b market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$222m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$253m leading to an even wider gap between loss and breakeven. As path to profitability is the topic on Rocket Pharmaceuticals' investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. Below we will provide a high-level summary of the industry analysts' expectations for the company.

See our latest analysis for Rocket Pharmaceuticals

According to the 11 industry analysts covering Rocket Pharmaceuticals, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2025, before generating positive profits of US$87m in 2026. So, the company is predicted to breakeven approximately 2 years from today. 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 56% 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.

We're not going to go through company-specific developments for Rocket Pharmaceuticals given that this is a high-level summary, but, bear in mind that generally a biotech has lumpy cash flows which are contingent on the product type and stage of development the company is in. 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 aspect worth mentioning. Rocket Pharmaceuticals currently has no debt on its balance sheet, which is rare for a loss-making biotech, which usually has a high level of debt relative to its equity. This means that the company has been operating purely on its equity investment and has no debt burden. This aspect reduces the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

This article is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis on Rocket Pharmaceuticals, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at Rocket Pharmaceuticals' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of key aspects you should further examine:

1. Valuation: What is Rocket 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 Rocket 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 Rocket 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.