Yahoo Finance What Type Of Shareholders Make Up X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:XFOR) Share Registry?
If you want to know who really controls X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:XFOR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.
X4 Pharmaceuticals is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of US$175m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it seems that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about X4 Pharmaceuticals.
See our latest analysis for X4 Pharmaceuticals
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About X4 Pharmaceuticals?
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 X4 Pharmaceuticals. 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. 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 X4 Pharmaceuticals, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Our data indicates that hedge funds own 5.2% of X4 Pharmaceuticals. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Bain Capital Life Sciences Investors, LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 9.0% of shares outstanding. OrbiMed Advisors LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 5.8% of common stock, and Ikarian Capital, LLC holds about 5.2% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Paula Ragan directly holds 0.8% of the total shares outstanding.
A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.
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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of X4 Pharmaceuticals
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.
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 see that insiders own shares in X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$1.9m worth of the US$175m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though I generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public holds a 32% stake in X4 Pharmaceuticals. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Equity Ownership
With a stake of 15%, private equity firms could influence the X4 Pharmaceuticals board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand X4 Pharmaceuticals better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - X4 Pharmaceuticals has 4 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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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