Starpharma Holdings Limited's (ASX:SPL) market cap touched AU$155m last week, benefiting both retail investors who own 55% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Starpharma Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 22 investors have a majority stake in the company with 45% ownership
• Insiders have been buying lately

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If you want to know who really controls Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 55% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched AU$155m last week, while institutions who own 27% also benefitted.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Starpharma Holdings.

Check out our latest analysis for Starpharma Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Starpharma Holdings?

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.

Starpharma Holdings 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. 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 Starpharma Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Starpharma Holdings. Our data shows that Allianz Asset Management GmbH is the largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.1% and 6.4% of the stock.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 22 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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Starpharma Holdings

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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Starpharma Holdings Limited. As individuals, the insiders collectively own AU$9.5m worth of the AU$155m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 55% of Starpharma Holdings. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 11%, of the shares on issue. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Starpharma Holdings .

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.

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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.