Insiders are the top stockholders in Xlife Sciences AG (VTX:XLS), and the recent 10.0% drop might have disappointed them

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Xlife Sciences implies vested interests in company growth
• A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

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Every investor in Xlife Sciences AG (VTX:XLS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 50% to be precise, is individual insiders. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And following last week's 10.0% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Xlife Sciences, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Xlife Sciences

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Xlife Sciences?

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.

Less than 5% of Xlife Sciences is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Xlife Sciences. David Deck is currently the company's largest shareholder with 23% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 20% and 7.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Oliver Baumann, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Xlife Sciences

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. 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 Xlife Sciences AG. Insiders own CHF52m worth of shares in the CHF104m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 48% stake in Xlife Sciences. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Xlife Sciences (1 shouldn't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.