Institutions profited after Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AQST) market cap rose US$51m last week but individual investors profited the most

Key Insights

• Aquestive Therapeutics' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 25 shareholders own 46% of the company
• 41% of Aquestive Therapeutics is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQST), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Individual investors gained the most after market cap touched US$489m last week, while institutions who own 41% also benefitted.

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

View our latest analysis for Aquestive Therapeutics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aquestive Therapeutics?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Aquestive Therapeutics. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Aquestive Therapeutics, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Aquestive Therapeutics. The company's largest shareholder is Bratton Capital Management, L.P., with ownership of 11%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.0% by the third-largest shareholder. In addition, we found that Daniel Barber, the CEO has 1.5% of the shares allocated to their name.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Aquestive Therapeutics

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$489m, and insiders have US$30m worth of shares, in their own names. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 47% stake in Aquestive Therapeutics. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 6.1%, private equity firms could influence the Aquestive Therapeutics board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Aquestive Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Aquestive Therapeutics is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable...

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.