Retail investors who hold 57% of Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:MIST) gained 14%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Milestone Pharmaceuticals indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 25 shareholders own 42% of the company
• 42% of Milestone Pharmaceuticals is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:MIST) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While retail investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 14% price gain, institutions also received a 42% cut.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Milestone Pharmaceuticals.

Check out our latest analysis for Milestone Pharmaceuticals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Milestone Pharmaceuticals?

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.

We can see that Milestone Pharmaceuticals does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Milestone Pharmaceuticals' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Milestone Pharmaceuticals. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 6.1% of shares outstanding. RTW Investments, LP is the second largest shareholder owning 4.9% of common stock, and Millennium Management LLC holds about 4.2% of the company stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Milestone Pharmaceuticals

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

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.

Our information suggests that Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. It has a market capitalization of just US$142m, and the board has only US$751k worth of shares in their own names. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 57% of Milestone Pharmaceuticals shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

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 2 warning signs we've spotted with Milestone Pharmaceuticals .

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.