After losing 27% in the past year, Cytek Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTKB) institutional owners must be relieved by the recent gain
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Cytek Biosciences' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
The top 8 shareholders own 54% of the company
Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock
If you want to know who really controls Cytek Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTKB), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 58% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
Last week's US$95m market cap gain would probably be appreciated by institutional investors, especially after a year of 27% losses.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Cytek Biosciences.
View our latest analysis for Cytek Biosciences
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cytek Biosciences?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Cytek Biosciences. 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. 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 Cytek Biosciences' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Cytek Biosciences. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 10% and 8.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Furthermore, CEO Wenbin Jiang is the owner of 3.9% of the company's shares.
We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 54% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.
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 Cytek Biosciences
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Cytek Biosciences, Inc.. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around US$100m worth of shares (at current prices). 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-- including retail investors -- own 28% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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
Private equity firms hold a 5.0% stake in Cytek Biosciences. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cytek Biosciences better, we need to consider many other factors.
I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.
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.
