Could The Forma Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMTX) Ownership Structure Tell Us Something Useful?
If you want to know who really controls Forma Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMTX), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.
With a market capitalization of US$851m, Forma Therapeutics Holdings is a decent size, so it is probably on the radar of institutional investors. In the chart below, we can see that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Forma Therapeutics Holdings.
View our latest analysis for Forma Therapeutics Holdings
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Forma Therapeutics Holdings?
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.
Forma Therapeutics Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Forma Therapeutics Holdings' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
It looks like hedge funds own 10.0% of Forma Therapeutics Holdings shares. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. RA Capital Management, L.P. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 19% of shares outstanding. With 10.0% and 7.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Cormorant Asset Management, LP and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Forma Therapeutics 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 information suggests that Forma Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. insiders own under 1% of the company. It appears that the board holds about US$7.4m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of US$851m. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 15% stake in Forma Therapeutics Holdings. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Private Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 30%, 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:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Be aware that Forma Therapeutics Holdings is showing 5 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those are a bit unpleasant...
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.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.