Institutional investors are Nektar Therapeutics' (NASDAQ:NKTR) biggest bettors and were rewarded after last week's US$59m market cap gain

Explore Nektar Therapeutics's Fair Values from the Community and select yours

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Nektar Therapeutics implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 17 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders have been selling lately

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If you want to know who really controls Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 4.6% last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 37% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

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

View our latest analysis for Nektar Therapeutics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Nektar Therapeutics?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Nektar 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. 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 Nektar Therapeutics' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It would appear that 12% of Nektar Therapeutics shares are controlled by hedge funds. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 8.3% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.4% and 5.4%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 17 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Nektar Therapeutics

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 Nektar Therapeutics insiders own under 1% of the company. It appears that the board holds about US$3.9m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of US$427m. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 30% stake in Nektar Therapeutics. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 6 warning signs with Nektar Therapeutics (at least 5 which shouldn't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.