Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:YMAB) latest 12% decline adds to one-year losses, institutional investors may consider drastic measures

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Y-mAbs Therapeutics implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 8 investors have a majority stake in the company with 53% ownership
• Recent sales by insiders

We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free.

A look at the shareholders of Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:YMAB) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 48% 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).

As a result, institutional investors endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by US$27m. This set of investors may especially be concerned about the current loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 70% for shareholders. Often called “market movers", institutions wield significant power in influencing the price dynamics of any stock. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Y-mAbs Therapeutics which might hurt individual investors.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Y-mAbs Therapeutics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Y-mAbs 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 Y-mAbs Therapeutics 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 Y-mAbs Therapeutics' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 9.4% of Y-mAbs Therapeutics. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. The company's largest shareholder is Wg Biotech Aps, with ownership of 10%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.4% and 7.3% of the stock.

We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Y-mAbs Therapeutics

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$2.6m worth of stock in the US$200m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 17% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Y-mAbs Therapeutics. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 14%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 10%, of the Y-mAbs 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 Y-mAbs Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Y-mAbs Therapeutics (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.

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

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.