Private companies who hold 56% of PolyPeptide Group AG (VTX:PPGN) gained 7.6%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• Significant control over PolyPeptide Group by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is Draupnir Holding B.V. with a 56% stake
• Institutional ownership in PolyPeptide Group is 23%

If you want to know who really controls PolyPeptide Group AG (VTX:PPGN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 56% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Private companies gained the most after market cap touched CHF1.0b last week, while institutions who own 23% also benefitted.

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

See our latest analysis for PolyPeptide Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About PolyPeptide Group?

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.

We can see that PolyPeptide Group 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. 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 PolyPeptide Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in PolyPeptide Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Draupnir Holding B.V. with 56% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.2% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.3% by the third-largest shareholder. In addition, we found that Juan Gonzalez, the CEO has 0.7% of the shares allocated to their name.

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 PolyPeptide Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 PolyPeptide Group AG. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around CHF44m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 16% stake in PolyPeptide Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 56%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand PolyPeptide Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with PolyPeptide Group , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.