Yahoo Finance Great week for Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) institutional investors after losing 43% over the previous year
Key Insights
Significantly high institutional ownership implies Iovance Biotherapeutics' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
The top 14 shareholders own 50% of the company
Every investor in Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IOVA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 72% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Last week's US$543m market cap gain would probably be appreciated by institutional investors, especially after a year of 43% losses.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Iovance Biotherapeutics.
Check out our latest analysis for Iovance Biotherapeutics
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Iovance Biotherapeutics?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Iovance Biotherapeutics' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Iovance Biotherapeutics is not owned by hedge funds. Wayne Rothbaum is currently the company's largest shareholder with 8.1% of shares outstanding. State Street Global Advisors, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 6.6% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 6.4% of the company stock.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 14 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that 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 Iovance Biotherapeutics
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.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around US$139m 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 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 5.4% stake in Iovance Biotherapeutics. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Iovance Biotherapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Iovance Biotherapeutics you should be aware of, and 1 of them shouldn't be ignored.
If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St 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. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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