A look at the shareholders of Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 46% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Following a 11% decrease in the stock price last week, individual investors suffered the most losses, but institutions who own 28% stock also took a hit.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Humacyte, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Humacyte
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
Humacyte already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Humacyte's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Humacyte. The company's largest shareholder is Fresenius Medical Care AG, with ownership of 14%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 6.9% and 5.9% of the stock.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
We can report that insiders do own shares in Humacyte, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$52m worth of the US$558m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Humacyte. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Public companies currently own 14% of Humacyte stock. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Humacyte better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Humacyte (2 are potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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