Company Overview
CEL-SCI Corporation operates as a clinical-stage biotechnology entity focused on the research and development of therapies designed to treat cancer and other diseases by leveraging the immune system within the United States. The company functions within the healthcare sector, specifically the biotechnology industry, which typically involves high-risk, long-cycle development phases where successful products can generate significant revenue once approved for market entry. Currently, the organization possesses a market capitalization of $27.07M, while specific data regarding annual revenue and employee count is not disclosed in the available financial records. The market capitalization of $27.07M indicates that the company is a small-cap entity with limited public float, suggesting that its current financial scale is insufficient to generate substantial earnings at this stage, and the absence of reported revenue figures aligns with its clinical-stage status where the primary expenditure occurs in research rather than commercial sales.
Financial Health
The company reports a net income of $-23,807,440 and an EBITDA of $-21,230,740, while revenue figures for the trailing twelve months are not available in the provided data. The substantial gap between the reported net income and the EBITDA figure reveals a significant cost structure burden related to interest expenses, with total debt standing at $9.11M, which likely accounts for the difference between operating earnings and net profit. Free cash flow stands at $-8,943,390, indicating that the company is currently burning cash to fund its operations and clinical trials rather than generating liquidity for shareholders or debt reduction. All three margin metrics—gross margin, operating margin, and profit margin—are reported as 0.0%, which indicates that the company has not yet reached commercialization or that revenue recorded is insufficient to cover variable costs to produce a positive margin. On the balance sheet, cash holdings of $6.28M are outweighed by total debt of $9.11M, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 81.75, which characterizes the company as highly leveraged relative to its equity base. The current ratio is 1.40, suggesting that the company possesses 1.40 dollars of liquid assets for every dollar of current liabilities, providing a moderate buffer for short-term obligations despite the overall debt position. Return on Equity is -212.1% and Return on Assets is -59.9%, metrics that reveal management is currently unable to generate positive returns on the capital deployed, reflecting the typical financial profile of a pre-revenue biotechnology firm operating at a loss.
Valuation Assessment
The trailing P/E ratio is not applicable due to negative earnings, while the forward P/E is listed as -3.48, a metric that implies the market is pricing in future earnings recovery or continued losses rather than current profitability. The price-to-book ratio is 2.31, indicating that the market values the company at 2.31 times its book value, which often reflects the potential value of its intellectual property and pipeline assets rather than its current tangible net worth. Alternative valuation metrics include a price-to-sales ratio that is not available and an EV/EBITDA of -1.35, suggesting that the enterprise value is negative relative to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, a common characteristic for loss-making biotech firms. The 52-week high is $13.48 and the 52-week low is $1.98, meaning the stock has experienced extreme volatility over the past year, though the specific current trading price relative to this exact range cannot be calculated without the live ticker price, yet the wide spread suggests significant price discovery is still occurring. The beta value is 0.91, which implies that the stock's price volatility is slightly less than the broader market average, indicating a moderate level of sensitivity to general market movements despite the high risk associated with its clinical-stage business model.
Growth & Income
Revenue growth year-over-year and earnings growth year-over-year are both listed as N/A, preventing a direct comparison of growth rates between operations and profitability, but the negative net income indicates that the company is not currently expanding earnings in a profitable manner. The company does not pay dividends, as evidenced by a dividend yield of N/A and a payout ratio of 0.0%, which means the firm retains all available capital to reinvest into research and development activities rather than distributing income to shareholders. Since the company is not a dividend payer, it follows a growth-oriented strategy where earnings, or rather the lack thereof, are theoretically intended to be channeled back into the business to advance its lead immunotherapy, Multikine. The overall growth and income profile is defined by a lack of current commercial revenue and a reliance on external capital to fund operations, with no income generation through dividends to offset the significant cash burn rate observed in the free cash flow metrics.