Shattuck Labs, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:STTK) institutional investors lost 24% last week but have benefitted from longer-term gains

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Shattuck Labs' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 6 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Insiders have bought recently

If you want to know who really controls Shattuck Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:STTK), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 44% stake, institutions 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).

Institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to US$147m last week. However, the 24% one-year return to shareholders may have helped lessen their pain. But they would probably be wary of future losses.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Shattuck Labs

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shattuck Labs?

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 Shattuck Labs. 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 Shattuck Labs, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

It would appear that 20% of Shattuck Labs 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. FMR LLC is currently the largest shareholder, with 15% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 12% and 7.8%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Furthermore, CEO Taylor Schreiber is the owner of 5.5% of the company's shares.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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

Insider Ownership Of Shattuck Labs

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 insiders maintain a significant holding in Shattuck Labs, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$147m, and insiders have US$20m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 23% stake in Shattuck Labs. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Shattuck Labs has 5 warning signs (and 1 which shouldn't be ignored) we think you should know about.

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.