We're Interested To See How Nurix Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NRIX) Uses Its Cash Hoard To Grow
Even when a business is losing money, it's possible for shareholders to make money if they buy a good business at the right price. For example, although software-as-a-service business Salesforce.com lost money for years while it grew recurring revenue, if you held shares since 2005, you'd have done very well indeed. But while the successes are well known, investors should not ignore the very many unprofitable companies that simply burn through all their cash and collapse.
So should Nurix Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NRIX) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.
Check out our latest analysis for Nurix Therapeutics
When Might Nurix Therapeutics Run Out Of Money?
A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. When Nurix Therapeutics last reported its balance sheet in August 2021, it had zero debt and cash worth US$344m. Importantly, its cash burn was US$80m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of about 4.3 years from August 2021. There's no doubt that this is a reassuringly long runway. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years.
Is Nurix Therapeutics' Revenue Growing?
We're hesitant to extrapolate on the recent trend to assess its cash burn, because Nurix Therapeutics actually had positive free cash flow last year, so operating revenue growth is probably our best bet to measure, right now. Happily for shareholders, the revenue is up a stonking 124% over the last year. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. For that reason, it makes a lot of sense to take a look at our analyst forecasts for the company.
How Easily Can Nurix Therapeutics Raise Cash?
While Nurix Therapeutics' revenue growth truly does shine bright, it's important not to ignore the possibility that it might need more cash, at some point, even if only to optimise its growth plans. Companies can raise capital through either debt or equity. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.
Nurix Therapeutics' cash burn of US$80m is about 5.3% of its US$1.5b market capitalisation. Given that is a rather small percentage, it would probably be really easy for the company to fund another year's growth by issuing some new shares to investors, or even by taking out a loan.
How Risky Is Nurix Therapeutics' Cash Burn Situation?
As you can probably tell by now, we're not too worried about Nurix Therapeutics' cash burn. For example, we think its revenue growth suggests that the company is on a good path. But it's fair to say that its cash burn relative to its market cap was also very reassuring. Taking all the factors in this report into account, we're not at all worried about its cash burn, as the business appears well capitalized to spend as needs be. On another note, we conducted an in-depth investigation of the company, and identified 3 warning signs for Nurix Therapeutics (1 is significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow.
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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