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$1.4b market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$227m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$209m shrinking the gap between loss and breakeven. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which BioCryst Pharmaceuticals will turn a profit, with the big question being "when will the company breakeven?" We've put together a brief outline of industry analyst expectations for the company, its year of breakeven and its implied growth rate.

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is bordering on breakeven, according to the 10 American Biotechs analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2025, before generating positive profits of US$55m in 2026. The company is therefore projected to breakeven around 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 66% year-on-year, on average, which is rather optimistic! Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won't go into details of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' upcoming projects, but, keep 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. So, a high growth rate is not out of the ordinary, particularly when a company is in a period of investment.

Before we wrap up, there's one issue worth mentioning. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals currently has negative equity on its balance sheet. Accounting methods used to deal with losses accumulated over time can cause this to occur. This is because liabilities are carried forward into the future until it cancels. Oftentimes, losses exist only on paper but other times, it can be a red flag.

Next Steps:

There are too many aspects of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals to cover in one brief article, but the key fundamentals for the company can all be found in one place – BioCryst Pharmaceuticals' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of important 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.