We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AUPH) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. The US$725m market-cap company announced a latest loss of US$78m on 31 December 2023 for its most recent financial year result. As path to profitability is the topic on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals' investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is bordering on breakeven, according to the 7 American Biotechs analysts. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2024, before turning a profit of US$59m in 2025. So, the company is predicted to breakeven just over a year from today. How fast will the company have to grow each year in order to reach the breakeven point by 2025? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 54% 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.

Underlying developments driving Aurinia Pharmaceuticals' growth isn't the focus of this broad overview, though, bear in mind 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, 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. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals 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. 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:

There are key fundamentals of Aurinia 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 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, take a look at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals' company page on Simply Wall St. We've also compiled a list of essential aspects you should look at:

1. Valuation: What is Aurinia 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 Aurinia 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 Aurinia 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.