The big shareholder groups in Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EIGR) have power over the company. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. We also tend to see lower insider ownership in companies that were previously publicly owned.
Eiger BioPharmaceuticals is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of US$212m, which means it wouldn’t have the attention of many institutional investors. In the chart below below, we can see that institutions own shares in the company. Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about EIGR.
View our latest analysis for Eiger BioPharmaceuticals
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Eiger BioPharmaceuticals?
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 33% of Eiger BioPharmaceuticals. 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 Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Our data indicates that hedge funds own 26% of Eiger BioPharmaceuticals. 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Eiger BioPharmaceuticals
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
We can see that insiders own shares in Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$3.7m worth of stock in the US$212m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 18% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over EIGR. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 22%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. 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:
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.
Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow .
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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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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.