Yahoo Finance Here's Why electroCore (NASDAQ:ECOR) Must Use Its Cash Wisely
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. Having said that, unprofitable companies are risky because they could potentially burn through all their cash and become distressed.
So should electroCore (NASDAQ:ECOR) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purpose of this article, we'll define cash burn as the amount of cash the company is spending each year to fund its growth (also called its negative free cash flow). Let's start with an examination of the business's cash, relative to its cash burn.
Check out our latest analysis for electroCore
How Long Is electroCore's Cash Runway?
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. As at June 2019, electroCore had cash of US$41m and no debt. Importantly, its cash burn was US$54m over the trailing twelve months. Therefore, from June 2019 it had roughly 9 months of cash runway. Importantly, analysts think that electroCore will reach cashflow breakeven in 3 years. Essentially, that means the company will either reduce its cash burn, or else require more cash. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.
How Is electroCore's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?
Although electroCore had revenue of US$1.6m in the last twelve months, its operating revenue was only US$1.6m in that time period. Given how low that operating leverage is, we think it's too early to put much weight on the revenue growth, so we'll focus on how the cash burn is changing, instead. Over the last year its cash burn actually increased by a very significant 50%. Oftentimes, increased cash burn simply means a company is accelerating its business development, but one should always be mindful that this causes the cash runway to shrink. 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 electroCore Raise Cash?
Since its cash burn is moving in the wrong direction, electroCore shareholders may wish to think ahead to when the company may need to raise more cash. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash to drive growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.
In the last year, electroCore burned through US$54m, which is just about equal to its US$55m market cap. Given just how high that expenditure is, relative to the company's market value, we think there's an elevated risk of funding distress, and we would be very nervous about holding the stock.
Is electroCore's Cash Burn A Worry?
electroCore is not in a great position when it comes to its cash burn situation. While its increasing cash burn wasn't too bad, its cash burn relative to its market cap does leave us rather nervous. Shareholders can take heart from the fact that analysts are forecasting it will reach breakeven. Once we consider the metrics mentioned in this article together, we're left with very little confidence in the company's ability to manage its cash burn, and we think it will probably need more money. Notably, our data indicates that electroCore insiders have been trading the shares. You can discover if they are buyers or sellers by clicking on this link.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)
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