Key Insights

• Significant control over Humacyte by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 25 shareholders own 45% of the company
• Insiders own 11% of Humacyte

Every investor in Humacyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:HUMA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 53% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 21% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 16% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Humacyte?

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.

We can see that Humacyte does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Humacyte's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Humacyte. Fresenius Medical Care AG is currently the largest shareholder, with 15% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.5% and 5.2% of the stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Laura Niklason directly holds 1.2% of the total shares outstanding.

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

Insider Ownership Of Humacyte

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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 insiders maintain a significant holding in Humacyte, Inc.. Insiders own US$71m worth of shares in the US$653m company. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 53% of Humacyte shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 5.2%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 15% of the Humacyte shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Humacyte better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Humacyte you should be aware of, and 1 of them can't be ignored.

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.