Is ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP) Popular Amongst Institutions?
The big shareholder groups in ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZIOP) have power over the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership.
ZIOPHARM Oncology is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of US$562m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions are noticeable on the share registry. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about ZIOPHARM Oncology.
Check out our latest analysis for ZIOPHARM Oncology
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ZIOPHARM Oncology?
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in ZIOPHARM Oncology. 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 ZIOPHARM Oncology's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
It would appear that 7.1% of ZIOPHARM Oncology shares are controlled by hedge funds. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 7.3% of shares outstanding. BlackRock, Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 7.2% of common stock, and MSD Partners, L.P. holds about 7.1% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Laurence James Cooper, the CEO has 0.9% of the shares allocated to his name
Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 15 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.
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 ZIOPHARM Oncology
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
We can see that insiders own shares in ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$17m worth of stock in the US$562m company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 41% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over ZIOPHARM Oncology. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand ZIOPHARM Oncology better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for ZIOPHARM Oncology (1 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
