We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ALNY) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel therapeutics based on ribonucleic acid interference. With the latest financial year loss of US$1.1b and a trailing-twelve-month loss of US$510m, the US$24b market-cap company alleviated its loss by moving closer towards its target of breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is Alnylam Pharmaceuticals' 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.

See our latest analysis for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is bordering on breakeven, according to the 27 American Biotechs analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2025, before generating positive profits of US$292m in 2026. So, the company is predicted to breakeven approximately 2 years from now. 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 58%, which is rather optimistic! If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, the company may become profitable much later than analysts predict.

We're not going to go through company-specific developments for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals given that this is a high-level summary, though, take into account that typically 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 issue worth mentioning. Alnylam 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:

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

1. Valuation: What is Alnylam 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 Alnylam 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 Alnylam 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.