Scancell Holdings plc (LON:SCLP) hedge funds owners may be pleased with recent gains after 14% loss over the past year

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Scancell Holdings' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 52% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Scancell Holdings plc (LON:SCLP), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 47% to be precise, is hedge funds. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

After a year of 14% losses, last week’s 14% gain would be welcomed by hedge funds investors as a possible sign that returns might start trending higher.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Scancell Holdings.

Check out our latest analysis for Scancell Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Scancell Holdings?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Scancell Holdings 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. 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 Scancell Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

It looks like hedge funds own 47% of Scancell Holdings shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Redmile Group, LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 33% of shares outstanding. With 15% and 4.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Vulpes Investment Management Private Limited and Calculus Capital Limited are the second and third largest shareholders.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Scancell Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 Scancell Holdings plc insiders own under 1% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It seems the board members have no more than UK£236k worth of shares in the UK£91m company. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 19% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Scancell Holdings. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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 4 warning signs for Scancell Holdings (3 are a bit unpleasant!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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