Tecan Group AG's (VTX:TECN) recent 3.3% pullback adds to one-year year losses, institutional owners may take drastic measures

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Tecan Group's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• A total of 11 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Tecan Group AG (VTX:TECN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 81% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, institutional investors endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by CHF135m. The recent loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 1.0% for stockholders, may not sit well with this group of investors. Also referred to as "smart money", institutions have a lot of sway over how a stock's price moves. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Tecan Group which might hurt individual investors.

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

See our latest analysis for Tecan Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Tecan Group?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Tecan Group. 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. 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 Tecan Group's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Tecan Group. The company's largest shareholder is BNY Mellon Asset Management, with ownership of 9.6%. With 6.6% and 5.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. and Norges Bank Investment Management are the second and third largest shareholders.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 11 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 Tecan Group

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Tecan Group AG. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own CHF16m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 19% stake in Tecan Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Take risks for example - Tecan Group has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.