Institutional investors are Mycronic AB (publ)'s (STO:MYCR) biggest bettors and were rewarded after last week's kr3.0b market cap gain

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Mycronic's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 54% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

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Every investor in Mycronic AB (publ) (STO:MYCR) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 60% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit kr43b in market cap. The one-year return on investment is currently 15% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

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

View our latest analysis for Mycronic

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mycronic?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Mycronic. 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 Mycronic'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. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Mycronic. Bure Equity AB (publ) is currently the largest shareholder, with 23% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.6% and 7.5% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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

Insider Ownership Of Mycronic

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

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Mycronic AB (publ) in their own names. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own kr35m worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 16% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Mycronic. 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 Equity Ownership

With a stake of 23%, private equity firms could influence the Mycronic board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Mycronic better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.