Insiders with their considerable ownership were the key benefactors as Xlife Sciences AG (VTX:XLS) touches CHF207m market cap

Key Insights

• Xlife Sciences' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• 66% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in Xlife Sciences AG (VTX:XLS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 50% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit CHF207m market cap following a 25% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Xlife Sciences.

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 company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Xlife Sciences. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is David Deck with 23% of shares outstanding. Vartex International LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 23% of common stock, and Gilbert Schöni holds about 20% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Oliver Baumann directly holds 7.0% of the total shares outstanding.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. 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

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Xlife Sciences AG. Insiders own CHF103m worth of shares in the CHF207m company. 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

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 29%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Xlife Sciences better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Xlife Sciences (of which 1 is a bit concerning!) you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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