Yahoo Finance Analysts Expect Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICPT) To Breakeven Soon
We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ICPT) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics to treat progressive non-viral liver diseases in the United States, Europe, and Canada. With the latest financial year loss of US$91m and a trailing-twelve-month loss of US$157m, the US$606m market-cap company amplified its loss by moving further away from its breakeven target. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which Intercept Pharmaceuticals will turn a profit, with the big question being “when will the company breakeven?” Below we will provide a high-level summary of the industry analysts’ expectations for the company.
View our latest analysis for Intercept Pharmaceuticals
Intercept Pharmaceuticals is bordering on breakeven, according to the 16 American Biotechs analysts. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2021, before turning a profit of US$84m in 2022. Therefore, the company is expected to breakeven roughly 12 months 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 42% 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 Intercept Pharmaceuticals' upcoming projects, but, bear in mind that by and large a biotech has lumpy cash flows which are contingent on the product type and stage of development the company is in. This means, large upcoming growth rates are not abnormal as the company is beginning to reap the benefits of earlier investments.
Before we wrap up, there’s one issue worth mentioning. Intercept Pharmaceuticals currently has a debt-to-equity ratio of over 2x. Generally, the rule of thumb is debt shouldn’t exceed 40% of your equity, and the company has considerably exceeded this. A higher level of debt requires more stringent capital management which increases the risk in investing in the loss-making company.
Next Steps:
There are key fundamentals of Intercept 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 Intercept Pharmaceuticals, take a look at Intercept Pharmaceuticals' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of important factors you should look at:
Valuation: What is Intercept 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 Intercept Pharmaceuticals 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 Intercept Pharmaceuticals’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.
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