Cellectis S.A.'s (EPA:ALCLS) stock price dropped 11% last week; retail investors would not be happy

Key Insights

• Cellectis' significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 51% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• Institutions own 24% of Cellectis

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Cellectis S.A. (EPA:ALCLS), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 36% to be precise, is retail investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As market cap fell to €163m last week, retail investors would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

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

See our latest analysis for Cellectis

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cellectis?

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.

Cellectis already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Cellectis' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Cellectis. The company's largest shareholder is AstraZeneca PLC, with ownership of 22%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 13% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.2% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Andre Choulika is the owner of 1.4% of the company's shares.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 51% of the company is controlled by the top 5 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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Cellectis

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. 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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Cellectis S.A.. In their own names, insiders own €3.3m worth of stock in the €163m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Cellectis. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 8.2%, private equity firms could influence the Cellectis board. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 3.5%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 26% of Cellectis stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cellectis better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Cellectis you should know about.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.