Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:MIST) is possibly approaching a major achievement in its business, so we would like to shine some light on the company. Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of cardiovascular medicines. The US$130m market-cap company posted a loss in its most recent financial year of US$60m and a latest trailing-twelve-month loss of US$43m shrinking the gap between loss and breakeven. The most pressing concern for investors is Milestone Pharmaceuticals' path to profitability – when will it breakeven? In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

See our latest analysis for Milestone Pharmaceuticals

Consensus from 4 of the American Pharmaceuticals analysts is that Milestone Pharmaceuticals is on the verge of breakeven. They expect the company to post a final loss in 2026, before turning a profit of US$35m in 2027. 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 56%, which signals high confidence from analysts. Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.

Given this is a high-level overview, we won’t go into details of Milestone Pharmaceuticals' upcoming projects, however, take into account that typically a pharma company has lumpy cash flows which are contingent on the drug and stage of product development the business is in. So, a high growth rate is not out of the ordinary, particularly when a company is in a period of investment.

One thing we would like to bring into light with Milestone Pharmaceuticals is its debt-to-equity ratio of over 2x. Generally, the rule of thumb is debt shouldn’t exceed 40% of your equity, and the company has considerably exceeded this. Note that a higher debt obligation increases the risk around investing in the loss-making company.

Next Steps:

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

1. Valuation: What is Milestone 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 Milestone 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 Milestone 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.