Insiders of Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNAC) must be disappointed as stock fell 10% after recent purchases

Key Insights

• Cartesian Therapeutics' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• 58% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Insiders have bought recently

If you want to know who really controls Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNAC), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 62% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

A quick look at our data suggests that insiders have been buying shares in the company recently. However, with shares price down 10% last week, they must be disappointed.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Cartesian Therapeutics.

See our latest analysis for Cartesian Therapeutics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cartesian Therapeutics?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Cartesian Therapeutics 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. 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 Cartesian Therapeutics' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Cartesian Therapeutics is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Timothy Springer with 37% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 21% and 11%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Cartesian Therapeutics

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 the majority of Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. So they have a US$326m stake in this US$528m business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 10% stake in Cartesian 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 Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.4%, of the Cartesian Therapeutics stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cartesian Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Cartesian Therapeutics (at least 1 which is concerning) , 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.