Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. — financial distress indicators
Financial-health summary
Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s reported numbers place it in the 'Weak' financial-health band (distress score 67/100). The main indicators are liabilities exceed assets (negative equity), losses in each of the last 3 years and revenue collapse. In its favour: high insider/promoter ownership (52%) aligns management with survival.
Stress by dimension
Share price — last 12 months
Indicators behind the score
Each red flag shows the evidence from the company’s own filings and the financial or legal principle behind it. Points add to the 0–100 score.
Total liabilities are 1.39× total assets.
Balance-sheet insolvency test: debts exceeding the fair value of assets is the statutory definition of 'insolvent' in 11 U.S.C. §101(32).
Net income negative in 3 of 3 fiscal years.
Persistent losses erode equity and the capacity to absorb shocks.
Revenue changed -93% year over year.
A >30% sales drop typically breaches leverage covenants and starves fixed-cost coverage.
Operating cash flow negative in 3 of the last 3 years.
A business that cannot fund itself from operations depends on external capital to survive.
Cash covers ~22 months of free-cash-flow burn.
Funding needs within two years make the company dependent on capital-market access.
Operating margin fell from -330% to -3100% in two years.
Sharp margin compression signals loss of pricing power or cost control.
0 severe and 1 moderate distress-related headlines in the last 6 months.
Headlines are corroborating evidence only; they are weighted lightly and never drive a flag alone.
Revenue vs net income
Cash generation
Debt vs cash vs equity
✅ Mitigating factors
- High insider/promoter ownership (52%) aligns management with survival.
📰 Recent news scan
- dilutCartesian Therapeutics Secures up to $150 Million of Non-Dilutive Financing from K2 HealthVentures and Expects Topline Data from the Phase 3 AURORA Trial in First Quarter 2027Yahoo Finance · 2026-05-26
- Cartesian Therapeutics Announces New Employment Inducement GrantsYahoo Finance · 2026-10-02
- Cartesian Therapeutics Announces New Employment Inducement GrantYahoo Finance · 2026-06-12
- Cartesian Therapeutics Announces Strategic Licensing Agreement with WestGene Biopharma to Accelerate the Development of In Vivo CAR-T Platform in Autoimmune DiseasesYahoo Finance · 2026-06-09
- We're Keeping An Eye On Cartesian Therapeutics' (NASDAQ:RNAC) Cash Burn RateYahoo Finance · 2026-05-17
- Cartesian Therapeutics to Participate in the H.C. Wainwright 4th Annual BioConnect Investor Conference at NASDAQYahoo Finance · 2026-05-12
⚖️ U.S. legal pathway — Title 11, U.S. Code
Which chapter would apply?
- Chapter 11 — reorganisation. Management usually stays in control as debtor-in-possession; the automatic stay (§362) halts collection; a plan must meet the best-interests test (§1129(a)(7)) and the absolute priority rule (§1129(b)) — creditors are paid before shareholders, who are frequently wiped out.
- Chapter 7 — liquidation. A trustee sells assets and distributes proceeds by statutory priority (§§507, 726).
- Subchapter V (“Chapter 5”) is a fast track for small-business debtors under a statutory debt cap, but SEC-reporting companies are excluded (§101(51D)) — so it rarely applies to listed companies.
What typically triggers a filing
- Payment default or covenant breach lenders will not waive; a debt maturity that cannot be refinanced.
- Auditor going-concern doubt (ASC 205-40 / PCAOB AS 2415) — often itself a default trigger in loan agreements.
- Creditors can force a case with an involuntary petition (§303) if debts are not paid as they come due.
- Delisting after sustained sub-$1 prices or equity deficits cuts off equity funding.
Transactions shortly before filing can be clawed back (preferences — 90 days, §547; fraudulent transfers — 2 years, §548).
Frequently asked questions
What do Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s financial-health indicators show?
As of 2026-10-08, Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s public financial data places it in the 'Weak' band with a distress score of 67/100, driven by liabilities exceed assets (negative equity), losses in each of the last 3 years and revenue collapse. This is a statistical screen of reported numbers — it does not mean the company is insolvent, has defaulted or will enter insolvency proceedings.
What is Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s financial distress score?
67/100 ('Weak').
What works in Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.'s favour?
High insider/promoter ownership (52%) aligns management with survival.
How are shareholders treated if a company enters insolvency?
In a Chapter 11 reorganisation the absolute priority rule pays secured lenders, then unsecured creditors, before shareholders — so existing shares are usually cancelled or heavily diluted. In Chapter 7 the company is liquidated and shareholders rarely recover anything.
Other Pharma & Biotech companies with distress indicators
- ABVC BioPharma, Inc. (ABVC)Very weak 100/100
- AKAN (AKAN)Very weak 100/100
- Endovia Health Sciences, Inc. (EDVA)Very weak 100/100
- Elicio Therapeutics, Inc. (ELTX)Very weak 100/100
- IM Cannabis Corp. (IMCC)Very weak 100/100
- NeuroSense Therapeutics Ltd. (NRSN)Very weak 100/100
Methodology
Score = capped sum of rule-based red flags across seven dimensions (liquidity, solvency, profitability, cash flow, sales trend, market signal, news). Ohlson O-score (1980) gives an accounting-based 1-year failure probability; Merton distance-to-default (Bharath & Shumway 2008) gives a market-implied probability. Financial institutions use a capital-based rule set. Recalculated every trading day from the latest filings, prices and news.