We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse CureVac N.V.'s (NASDAQ:CVAC) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. CureVac N.V., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing various transformative medicines based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). The company's loss has recently broadened since it announced a €260m loss in the full financial year, compared to the latest trailing-twelve-month loss of €278m, moving it further away from breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is CureVac's 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.
CureVac is bordering on breakeven, according to the 7 American Biotechs analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2023, before generating positive profits of €152m in 2024. So, the company is predicted to breakeven approximately a year from now or less! We calculated the rate at which the company must grow to meet the consensus forecasts predicting breakeven within 12 months. It turns out an average annual growth rate of 40% is expected, which is rather optimistic! If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, the company may become profitable much later than analysts predict.
Underlying developments driving CureVac's growth isn't the focus of this broad overview, though, bear in mind that typically 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 aspect worth mentioning. CureVac 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 CureVac, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at CureVac's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of key factors you should further examine:
- Valuation: What is CureVac 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 CureVac is currently mispriced by the market.
- Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on CureVac's board and the CEO's background.
- 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.