Insiders continue to buy OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) and now own 52% shares

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over OPKO Health implies vested interests in company growth
• 55% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Insiders have been buying lately

To get a sense of who is truly in control of OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 52% stake, individual insiders 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.

Insiders who purchased recently should be particularly happy after the stock gained 7.3% in the past week.

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

See our latest analysis for OPKO Health

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About OPKO 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.

OPKO Health 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 OPKO Health's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

It would appear that 7.2% of OPKO Health shares are controlled by hedge funds. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Phillip Frost with 37% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.2% and 6.0% of the stock. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Gary Nabel is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 55% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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 OPKO Health

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of OPKO Health, Inc.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Insiders own US$544m worth of shares in the US$1.0b company. That's extraordinary! It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 15% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with OPKO Health .

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.