Institutions profited after Camurus AB (publ)'s (STO:CAMX) market cap rose kr1.3b last week but private companies profited the most

Key Insights

• Significant control over Camurus by private companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 6 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Institutions own 36% of Camurus

We check all companies for important risks. See what we found for Camurus in our free report.

Every investor in Camurus AB (publ) (STO:CAMX) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While private companies were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s kr1.3b market cap gain, institutions too had a 36% share in those profits.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Camurus

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Camurus?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Camurus already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Camurus' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Camurus is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Sandberg Development AB is the largest shareholder with 35% of shares outstanding. Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP4) is the second largest shareholder owning 4.2% of common stock, and Avanza Fonder AB holds about 2.9% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Fredrik Tiberg directly holds 2.8% of the total shares outstanding.

We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Camurus

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Camurus AB (publ). The insiders have a meaningful stake worth kr1.1b. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 24% stake in Camurus. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 37%, of the Camurus stock. 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 Camurus better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.