If you want to know who really controls HLS Therapeutics Inc. (TSE:HLS), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, hedge funds make up 29% of the company’s shareholders.

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

View our latest analysis for HLS Therapeutics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About HLS 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.

HLS Therapeutics already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 HLS Therapeutics' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It looks like hedge funds own 29% of HLS Therapeutics shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. The company's largest shareholder is Stadium Capital Management, LLC, with ownership of 18%. With 13% and 10% of the shares outstanding respectively, Athyrium Capital Management, LP and Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. Additionally, the company's CEO Gilbert Godin directly holds 2.9% of the total shares outstanding.

On looking further, we found that 52% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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

Insider Ownership Of HLS 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. 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.