With the business potentially at an important milestone, we thought we'd take a closer look at Atossa Therapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ATOS) future prospects. Atossa Therapeutics, Inc. operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in oncology for women breast cancer and other conditions in the United States. The US$83m market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$26m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$30m leading to an even wider gap between loss and breakeven. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which Atossa Therapeutics will turn a profit, with the big question being “when will the company breakeven?” In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

According to the 4 industry analysts covering Atossa Therapeutics, the consensus is that breakeven is near. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2027, before turning a profit of US$39m in 2028. So, the company is predicted to breakeven approximately 2 years from today. What rate will the company have to grow year-on-year in order to breakeven on this date? Using a line of best fit, we calculated an average annual growth rate of 49%, which is rather optimistic! 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 Atossa Therapeutics given that this is a high-level summary, though, 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 aspect worth mentioning. Atossa Therapeutics 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 Atossa Therapeutics, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at Atossa Therapeutics' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of key aspects you should further examine:

1. Valuation: What is Atossa Therapeutics 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 Atossa Therapeutics 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 Atossa Therapeutics’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.

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.