Nyxoah SA's (EBR:NYXH) market cap up €31m last week, benefiting both retail investors who own 30% as well as insiders

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Nyxoah indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 6 shareholders own 52% of the company
• 21% of Nyxoah is held by insiders

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If you want to know who really controls Nyxoah SA (EBR:NYXH), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 30% to be precise, is retail investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched €273m last week, while insiders who own 21% also benefitted.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Nyxoah.

Check out our latest analysis for Nyxoah

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nyxoah?

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 Nyxoah. 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 Nyxoah's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It would appear that 8.0% of Nyxoah shares are controlled by hedge funds. 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. The company's largest shareholder is Cochlear Limited, with ownership of 15%. Robert Taub is the second largest shareholder owning 9.1% of common stock, and Vestal Point Capital, LP holds about 8.0% of the company stock. Robert Taub, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive.

We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. 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 Nyxoah

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Nyxoah SA. It has a market capitalization of just €273m, and insiders have €57m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 30% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Nyxoah. 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

Private equity firms hold a 7.8% stake in Nyxoah. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 20% of Nyxoah stock. 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 Nyxoah better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks for example - Nyxoah has 3 warning signs (and 2 which are significant) we think you should know about.

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.