Optomed Oyj's (HEL:OPTOMED) institutional investors lost 18% over the past week but have profited from longer-term gains

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Optomed Oyj's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The top 12 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of Optomed Oyj (HEL:OPTOMED) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 56% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Institutional investors endured the highest losses after the company's market cap fell by €21m last week. However, the 66% one-year returns may have helped alleviate their overall losses. But they would probably be wary of future losses.

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

See our latest analysis for Optomed Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Optomed Oyj?

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.

We can see that Optomed Oyj does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Optomed Oyj'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. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Optomed Oyj. Our data shows that Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, Asset Management Arm is the largest shareholder with 9.0% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.6% by the third-largest shareholder.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 12 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Optomed Oyj

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.

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 Optomed Oyj. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It seems the board members have no more than €338k worth of shares in the €98m company. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 42% stake in Optomed Oyj. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Optomed Oyj you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.