A look at the shareholders of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYPT) can tell us which group is most powerful. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership.
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of US$136m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. In the chart below, we can see that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about EyePoint Pharmaceuticals.
NasdaqGM:EYPT Ownership Breakdown January 5th 2021
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About EyePoint Pharmaceuticals?
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.
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals 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. 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 EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
NasdaqGM:EYPT Earnings and Revenue Growth January 5th 2021
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals is not owned by hedge funds. Essex Woodlands Management, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 28% of shares outstanding. Franklin Resources, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 9.3% of common stock, and HighTower Advisors, LLC holds about 3.5% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Nancy Lurker, the CEO has 0.5% of the shares allocated to their name.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals
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.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our information suggests that EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. It seems the board members have no more than US$1.0m worth of shares in the US$136m company. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public -- mostly retail investors -- own 53% of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.
Private Equity Ownership
With a stake of 28%, private equity firms could influence the EyePoint Pharmaceuticals board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand EyePoint Pharmaceuticals better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for EyePoint Pharmaceuticals you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.
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.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.
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