A look at the shareholders of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 57% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 8.0% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 40% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals.

Check out our latest analysis for Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aurinia 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 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc. with 5.5% of shares outstanding. ILJIN SNT Co., Ltd is the second largest shareholder owning 4.0% of common stock, and FMR LLC holds about 3.4% of the company stock.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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 Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$18m. Most would see this as a real positive. If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 57% stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. 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.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.

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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.