Yahoo Finance Could The Lava Therapeutics B.V. (NASDAQ:LVTX) Ownership Structure Tell Us Something Useful?
A look at the shareholders of Lava Therapeutics B.V. (NASDAQ:LVTX) can tell us which group is most powerful. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership.
With a market capitalization of US$152m, Lava Therapeutics B.V is a small cap stock, so it might not be well known by many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Lava Therapeutics B.V.
View our latest analysis for Lava Therapeutics B.V
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Lava Therapeutics B.V?
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 Lava Therapeutics B.V. 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. 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 Lava Therapeutics B.V's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
It would appear that 11% of Lava Therapeutics B.V shares are controlled by hedge funds. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Our data shows that Gilde Healthcare Partners B.V. is the largest shareholder with 21% of shares outstanding. With 18% and 13% of the shares outstanding respectively, Versant Venture Management, LLC and Novo Holdings A/S are the second and third largest shareholders.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Lava Therapeutics B.V
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.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Lava Therapeutics B.V.. It has a market capitalization of just US$152m, and the board has only US$775k worth of shares in their own names. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public holds a 10% stake in Lava Therapeutics B.V. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Equity Ownership
With a stake of 52%, private equity firms could influence the Lava Therapeutics B.V 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.
Public Company Ownership
We can see that public companies hold 7.4% of the Lava Therapeutics B.V shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Lava Therapeutics B.V better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Lava Therapeutics B.V (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
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. 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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