Institutional investors have a lot riding on Monopar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:MNPR) with 29% ownership

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Monopar Therapeutics' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 52% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Monopar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:MNPR), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 29% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 12% last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 865% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Monopar Therapeutics.

Check out our latest analysis for Monopar Therapeutics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Monopar Therapeutics?

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 have a fair amount of stake in Monopar 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 Monopar Therapeutics, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

It would appear that 9.8% of Monopar Therapeutics 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 Tactic Pharma LLC with 23% of shares outstanding. Janus Henderson Group plc is the second largest shareholder owning 19% of common stock, and Adage Capital Management, L.P. holds about 9.8% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Chandler Robinson directly holds 1.1% of the total shares outstanding.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Monopar Therapeutics

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Monopar Therapeutics Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$9.5m worth of the US$205m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 18% stake in Monopar Therapeutics. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 8.4%, private equity firms could influence the Monopar Therapeutics board. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 23%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 6.3% of the Monopar Therapeutics shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Monopar Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Monopar Therapeutics is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those don't sit too well with us...

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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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.