Yahoo Finance Institutional owners may take dramatic actions as Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ICPT) recent 8.5% drop adds to one-year losses
Every investor in Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICPT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 63% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
And institutional investors saw their holdings value drop by 8.5% last week. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 8.3% might not go down well especially with this category of shareholders. Institutions or "liquidity providers" control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. As a result, if the downtrend continues, institutions may face pressures to sell Intercept Pharmaceuticals, which might have negative implications on individual investors.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for Intercept Pharmaceuticals
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Intercept Pharmaceuticals?
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.
We can see that Intercept Pharmaceuticals does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Intercept Pharmaceuticals' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Intercept Pharmaceuticals. Genextra S.p.A. is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.7% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.5% and 6.6% of the stock.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 13 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over 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 Intercept 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. 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.
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 Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$15m worth of stock in the US$574m 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 25% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Intercept Pharmaceuticals. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 9.7%, 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.
Next Steps:
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Intercept Pharmaceuticals (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
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.
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