Yahoo Finance Retail investors account for 54% of Galenica AG's (VTX:GALE) ownership, while institutions account for 46%
Key Insights
Galenica's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
The top 25 shareholders own 40% of the company
A look at the shareholders of Galenica AG (VTX:GALE) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 54% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Institutions, on the other hand, account for 46% of the company's stockholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Galenica, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for Galenica
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Galenica?
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 Galenica. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Galenica, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Galenica is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is UBS Asset Management AG with 5.4% of shares outstanding. With 5.0% and 4.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Credit Suisse Asset Management (Switzerland) Ltd. and Alecta Pensionsförsäkring, ömsesidigt are the second and third largest shareholders.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Galenica
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.
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.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Galenica AG. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own CHF3.0m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 54% of Galenica shares. 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:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Galenica .
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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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.
