Nanoform Finland Oyj's (HEL:NANOFH) latest 14% decline adds to one-year losses, institutional investors may consider drastic measures

Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Nanoform Finland Oyj's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• Insider ownership in Nanoform Finland Oyj is 15%

Every investor in Nanoform Finland Oyj (HEL:NANOFH) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 60% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And institutional investors saw their holdings value drop by 14% last week. This set of investors may especially be concerned about the current loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 21% for shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. Hence, if weakness in Nanoform Finland Oyj's share price continues, institutional investors may feel compelled to sell the stock, which might not be ideal for individual investors.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Nanoform Finland Oyj.

Check out our latest analysis for Nanoform Finland Oyj

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nanoform Finland 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 Nanoform Finland 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. 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 Nanoform Finland Oyj's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

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 Nanoform Finland Oyj. The company's largest shareholder is Handelsbanken Asset Management, with ownership of 7.1%. With 6.3% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Edward Haeggstrom and Helsingin yliopiston rahastot, Endowment Arm are the second and third largest shareholders. Edward Haeggstrom, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 52% of the ownership is controlled by the top 12 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. 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 Nanoform Finland Oyj

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Nanoform Finland Oyj. It has a market capitalization of just €111m, and insiders have €17m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 24% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Nanoform Finland Oyj you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.