Yahoo Finance Institutions own 25% of ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ:PRQR) shares but retail investors control 46% of the company
Key Insights
ProQR Therapeutics' significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
A total of 14 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
If you want to know who really controls ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (NASDAQ:PRQR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 46% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Meanwhile, institutions make up 25% of the company’s shareholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of ProQR Therapeutics.
See our latest analysis for ProQR Therapeutics
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ProQR Therapeutics?
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 ProQR Therapeutics. 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. 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 ProQR Therapeutics' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in ProQR Therapeutics. The company's largest shareholder is Eli Lilly and Company, with ownership of 16%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 10% and 6.5% of the stock. In addition, we found that Daniel de Boer, the CEO has 0.9% of the shares allocated to their name.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of ProQR Therapeutics
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.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in ProQR Therapeutics N.V.. It has a market capitalization of just US$140m, and insiders have US$2.9m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over ProQR Therapeutics. 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 10%, private equity firms could influence the ProQR Therapeutics 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
Public companies currently own 16% of ProQR Therapeutics stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.
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 learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with ProQR Therapeutics (including 1 which is potentially serious) .
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
