Stock Analysis

What Kind Of Investor Owns Most Of Bio-Path Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPTH)?

OTCPK:BPTH
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The big shareholder groups in Bio-Path Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BPTH) have power over the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership.

Bio-Path Holdings is a smaller company with a market capitalization of US$39m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutional investors have bought into the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about BPTH.

View our latest analysis for Bio-Path Holdings

NasdaqCM:BPTH Ownership Summary, April 15th 2019
NasdaqCM:BPTH Ownership Summary, April 15th 2019
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What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bio-Path Holdings?

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 own 15% of Bio-Path Holdings. 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. 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 Bio-Path Holdings's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

NasdaqCM:BPTH Income Statement, April 15th 2019
NasdaqCM:BPTH Income Statement, April 15th 2019

It would appear that 16% of Bio-Path Holdings 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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Bio-Path Holdings

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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Bio-Path Holdings, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$404k worth of stock in the US$39m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but I usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- mostly retail investors -- own 68% of Bio-Path Holdings . This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

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.

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.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this freelist of interesting companies.

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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.