Institutional investors control 64% of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) and were rewarded last week after stock increased 8.7%

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Ocular Therapeutix implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• 52% of the business is held by the top 9 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 64% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Last week’s 8.7% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The one-year return on investment is currently 28% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Ocular Therapeutix, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Ocular Therapeutix

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ocular Therapeutix?

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 Ocular Therapeutix does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Ocular Therapeutix's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Ocular Therapeutix. Our data shows that Summer Road LLC is the largest shareholder with 9.3% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are VR Adviser, LLC and Deep Track Capital, LP, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 8.2%.

We did some more digging and found that 9 of the top shareholders account for roughly 52% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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 Ocular Therapeutix

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. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$20m worth of stock in the US$968m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 17% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

Private equity firms hold a 16% stake in Ocular Therapeutix. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Ocular Therapeutix better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Ocular Therapeutix is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com