Here's What Aptorum Group Limited's (NASDAQ:APM) Shareholder Ownership Structure Looks Like

The big shareholder groups in Aptorum Group Limited (NASDAQ:APM) have power over the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.

Aptorum Group is a smaller company with a market capitalization of US$116m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. In the chart below, we can see that institutional investors have not yet purchased much of the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Aptorum Group.

Check out our latest analysis for Aptorum Group

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Aptorum Group?

We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Aptorum Group might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

Aptorum Group is not owned by hedge funds. The company's CEO Chung Yuen Huen is the largest shareholder with 67% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have significant control over the outcome or future of the company, which is why insider ownership is usually looked upon favourably by prospective buyers. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 15% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 0.7% by the third-largest shareholder. Note that two of the top three shareholders are also President and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively, once again pointing to significant ownership by company insiders.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Aptorum Group

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Aptorum Group Limited. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. So they have a US$97m stake in this US$116m business. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public holds a 16% stake in APM. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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 Aptorum Group is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is significant...

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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. 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.

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