Yahoo Finance Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA) most popular amongst individual investors who own 69% of the shares, institutions hold 25%
If you want to know who really controls Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 69% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
And institutions on the other hand have a 25% ownership in the company. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Cassava Sciences, beginning with the chart below.
See our latest analysis for Cassava Sciences
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cassava Sciences?
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Cassava Sciences. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Cassava Sciences' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Cassava Sciences. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 6.0% of shares outstanding. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 5.1% of common stock, and Remi Barbier holds about 2.7% of the company stock. Remi Barbier, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.
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.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of Cassava Sciences
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
We can see that insiders own shares in Cassava Sciences, Inc.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own US$69m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public -- including retail investors -- own 69% of Cassava Sciences. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cassava Sciences better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Cassava Sciences is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those are a bit concerning...
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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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Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article 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.
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