Key Insights
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Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Immunic’s stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
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A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
To get a sense of who is truly in control of Immunic, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMUX), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that hedge funds own the lion’s share in the company with 44% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Because hedge funds owners have a huge pool of resources and liquidity, their investing decisions tend to carry a great deal of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.
Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of Immunic, beginning with the chart below.
View our latest analysis for Immunic
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Immunic?
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.
We can see that Immunic does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company’s stock. 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 Immunic, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Our data indicates that hedge funds own 44% of Immunic. That’s interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. RTW Investments, LP is currently the largest shareholder, with 10.0% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are BVF Partners L.P. and Avidity Partners Management, L.P., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 9.9%.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company’s shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Immunic
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Immunic, Inc. in their own names. It appears that the board holds about US$1.1m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of US$110m. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public– including retail investors — own 31% 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.
Next Steps:
It’s always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Immunic better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example – Immunic has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.
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.
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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.
