Significant control over BioNTech by private equity firms implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
60% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
If you want to know who really controls BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 43% to be precise, is private equity firms. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
While private equity firms were the group that benefitted the most from last week’s US$1.8b market cap gain, institutions too had a 20% share in those profits.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of BioNTech, beginning with the chart below.
NasdaqGS:BNTX Ownership Breakdown January 7th 2025
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About BioNTech?
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 BioNTech. 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 BioNTech, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
NasdaqGS:BNTX Earnings and Revenue Growth January 7th 2025
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in BioNTech. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is AT Impf GmbH with 43% of shares outstanding. With 17% and 3.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ugur Sahin and Baillie Gifford & Co. are the second and third largest shareholders. Ugur Sahin, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.
To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Insider Ownership Of BioNTech
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of BioNTech SE. It has a market capitalization of just US$28b, and insiders have US$5.1b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 19% stake in BioNTech. 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 Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 43% stake in BioNTech. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand BioNTech better, we need to consider many other factors.
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.
