Astrana Health, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ASTH) recent 8.3% pullback adds to one-year year losses, institutional owners may take drastic measures

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Astrana Health implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• 52% of the business is held by the top 9 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Astrana Health is 12%

This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Astrana Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTH), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 53% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And institutional investors saw their holdings value drop by 8.3% last week. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 54% might not go down well especially with this category of shareholders. Often called “market movers", institutions wield significant power in influencing the price dynamics of any stock. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Astrana Health which might hurt individual investors.

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

View our latest analysis for Astrana Health

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Astrana Health?

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.

Astrana Health 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Astrana Health, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Astrana Health. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 13%. With 12% and 9.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Allied Physicians of California IPA and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Brandon Sim is the owner of 2.9% of the company's shares.

We did some more digging and found that 9 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% 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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Astrana Health

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Astrana Health, Inc.. Insiders own US$141m worth of shares in the US$1.1b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 22% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Astrana Health. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 12%, of the Astrana Health stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Astrana Health , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.

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.