ImmuCell Corporate Bonds and Leverage Analysis

ICCC Stock  USD 3.70  0.04  1.07%   
ImmuCell holds a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.359. With a high degree of financial leverage come high-interest payments, which usually reduce ImmuCell's Earnings Per Share (EPS).

Asset vs Debt

Equity vs Debt

ImmuCell's liquidity is one of the most fundamental aspects of both its future profitability and its ability to meet different types of ongoing financial obligations. ImmuCell's cash, liquid assets, total liabilities, and shareholder equity can be utilized to evaluate how much leverage the Company is using to sustain its current operations. For traders, higher-leverage indicators usually imply a higher risk to shareholders. In addition, it helps ImmuCell Stock's retail investors understand whether an upcoming fall or rise in the market will negatively affect ImmuCell's stakeholders.
For most companies, including ImmuCell, marketable securities, inventories, and receivables are the most common assets that could be converted to cash. However, for ImmuCell, the most critical issue when managing liquidity is ensuring that current assets are properly aligned with current liabilities. If they are not, ImmuCell's management will need to obtain alternative financing to ensure there are always enough cash equivalents on the balance sheet to meet obligations.
  
Check out the analysis of ImmuCell Fundamentals Over Time.
For information on how to trade ImmuCell Stock refer to our How to Trade ImmuCell Stock guide.
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Given the importance of ImmuCell's capital structure, the first step in the capital decision process is for the management of ImmuCell to decide how much external capital it will need to raise to operate in a sustainable way. Once the amount of financing is determined, management needs to examine the financial markets to determine the terms in which the company can boost capital. This move is crucial to the process because the market environment may reduce the ability of ImmuCell to issue bonds at a reasonable cost.

ImmuCell Debt to Cash Allocation

As ImmuCell follows its natural business cycle, the capital allocation decisions will not magically go away. ImmuCell's decision-makers have to determine if most of the cash flows will be poured back into or reinvested in the business, reserved for other projects beyond operational needs, or paid back to stakeholders and investors.
ImmuCell currently holds 16.69 M in liabilities with Debt to Equity (D/E) ratio of 0.36, which is about average as compared to similar companies. ImmuCell has a current ratio of 6.77, suggesting that it is liquid enough and is able to pay its financial obligations when due. Note, when we think about ImmuCell's use of debt, we should always consider it together with its cash and equity.

ImmuCell Assets Financed by Debt

Typically, companies with high debt-to-asset ratios are said to be highly leveraged. The higher the ratio, the greater risk will be associated with the ImmuCell's operation. In addition, a high debt-to-assets ratio may indicate a low borrowing capacity of ImmuCell, which in turn will lower the firm's financial flexibility.

ImmuCell Corporate Bonds Issued

Most ImmuCell bonds can be classified according to their maturity, which is the date when ImmuCell has to pay back the principal to investors. Maturities can be short-term, medium-term, or long-term (more than ten years). Longer-term bonds usually offer higher interest rates but may entail additional risks.

Understaning ImmuCell Use of Financial Leverage

ImmuCell's financial leverage ratio helps determine the effect of debt on the overall profitability of the company. It measures ImmuCell's total debt position, including all outstanding debt obligations, and compares it with ImmuCell's equity. Financial leverage can amplify the potential profits to ImmuCell's owners, but it also increases the potential losses and risk of financial distress, including bankruptcy, if ImmuCell is unable to cover its debt costs.
ImmuCell Corporation, an animal health company, develops, manufactures, and markets products that enhance the health and productivity of dairy and beef cattle in the United States and internationally. ImmuCell Corporation was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine. Immucell operates under Biotechnology classification in the United States and is traded on NASDAQ Exchange. It employs 64 people.
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When determining whether ImmuCell offers a strong return on investment in its stock, a comprehensive analysis is essential. The process typically begins with a thorough review of ImmuCell's financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, to assess its financial health. Key financial ratios are used to gauge profitability, efficiency, and growth potential of Immucell Stock. Outlined below are crucial reports that will aid in making a well-informed decision on Immucell Stock:
Check out the analysis of ImmuCell Fundamentals Over Time.
For information on how to trade ImmuCell Stock refer to our How to Trade ImmuCell Stock guide.
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Is Pharmaceutical Products space expected to grow? Or is there an opportunity to expand the business' product line in the future? Factors like these will boost the valuation of ImmuCell. If investors know ImmuCell will grow in the future, the company's valuation will be higher. The financial industry is built on trying to define current growth potential and future valuation accurately. All the valuation information about ImmuCell listed above have to be considered, but the key to understanding future value is determining which factors weigh more heavily than others.
The market value of ImmuCell is measured differently than its book value, which is the value of ImmuCell that is recorded on the company's balance sheet. Investors also form their own opinion of ImmuCell's value that differs from its market value or its book value, called intrinsic value, which is ImmuCell's true underlying value. Investors use various methods to calculate intrinsic value and buy a stock when its market value falls below its intrinsic value. Because ImmuCell's market value can be influenced by many factors that don't directly affect ImmuCell's underlying business (such as a pandemic or basic market pessimism), market value can vary widely from intrinsic value.
Please note, there is a significant difference between ImmuCell's value and its price as these two are different measures arrived at by different means. Investors typically determine if ImmuCell is a good investment by looking at such factors as earnings, sales, fundamental and technical indicators, competition as well as analyst projections. However, ImmuCell's price is the amount at which it trades on the open market and represents the number that a seller and buyer find agreeable to each party.

What is Financial Leverage?

Financial leverage is the use of borrowed money (debt) to finance the purchase of assets with the expectation that the income or capital gain from the new asset will exceed the cost of borrowing. In most cases, the debt provider will limit how much risk it is ready to take and indicate a limit on the extent of the leverage it will allow. In the case of asset-backed lending, the financial provider uses the assets as collateral until the borrower repays the loan. In the case of a cash flow loan, the general creditworthiness of the company is used to back the loan. The concept of leverage is common in the business world. It is mostly used to boost the returns on equity capital of a company, especially when the business is unable to increase its operating efficiency and returns on total investment. Because earnings on borrowing are higher than the interest payable on debt, the company's total earnings will increase, ultimately boosting stockholders' profits.

Leverage and Capital Costs

The debt to equity ratio plays a role in the working average cost of capital (WACC). The overall interest on debt represents the break-even point that must be obtained to profitability in a given venture. Thus, WACC is essentially the average interest an organization owes on the capital it has borrowed for leverage. Let's say equity represents 60% of borrowed capital, and debt is 40%. This results in a financial leverage calculation of 40/60, or 0.6667. The organization owes 10% on all equity and 5% on all debt. That means that the weighted average cost of capital is (.4)(5) + (.6)(10) - or 8%. For every $10,000 borrowed, this organization will owe $800 in interest. Profit must be higher than 8% on the project to offset the cost of interest and justify this leverage.

Benefits of Financial Leverage

Leverage provides the following benefits for companies:
  • Leverage is an essential tool a company's management can use to make the best financing and investment decisions.
  • It provides a variety of financing sources by which the firm can achieve its target earnings.
  • Leverage is also an essential technique in investing as it helps companies set a threshold for the expansion of business operations. For example, it can be used to recommend restrictions on business expansion once the projected return on additional investment is lower than the cost of debt.
By borrowing funds, the firm incurs a debt that must be paid. But, this debt is paid in small installments over a relatively long period of time. This frees funds for more immediate use in the stock market. For example, suppose a company can afford a new factory but will be left with negligible free cash. In that case, it may be better to finance the factory and spend the cash on hand on inputs, labor, or even hold a significant portion as a reserve against unforeseen circumstances.

The Risk of Financial Leverage

The most obvious and apparent risk of leverage is that if price changes unexpectedly, the leveraged position can lead to severe losses. For example, imagine a hedge fund seeded by $50 worth of investor money. The hedge fund borrows another $50 and buys an asset worth $100, leading to a leverage ratio of 2:1. For the investor, this is neither good nor bad -- until the asset price changes. If the asset price goes up 10 percent, the investor earns $10 on $50 of capital, a net gain of 20 percent, and is very pleased with the increased gains from the leverage. However, if the asset price crashes unexpectedly, say by 30 percent, the investor loses $30 on $50 of capital, suffering a 60 percent loss. In other words, the effect of leverage is to increase the volatility of returns and increase the effects of a price change on the asset to the bottom line while increasing the chance for profit as well.