Key Insights

• Significant control over AbCellera Biologics by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 10 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Insiders have bought recently

If you want to know who really controls AbCellera Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:ABCL), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 34% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 11% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but institutions who own 30% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of AbCellera Biologics.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AbCellera Biologics?

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.

AbCellera Biologics 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 AbCellera Biologics' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

It would appear that 9.3% of AbCellera Biologics shares are controlled by hedge funds. 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. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Carl Hansen with 19% of shares outstanding. Baker Bros. Advisors LP is the second largest shareholder owning 9.3% of common stock, and Baillie Gifford & Co. holds about 4.4% of the company stock.

We also observed that the top 10 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. 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 AbCellera Biologics

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in AbCellera Biologics Inc.. Insiders have a US$217m stake in this US$815m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 34% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over AbCellera Biologics. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. Take risks for example - AbCellera Biologics has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.