Key Insights

• Significant control over CureVac by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 3 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Institutions own 18% of CureVac

If you want to know who really controls CureVac N.V. (NASDAQ:CVAC), 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 37% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, individual investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week's 15% gain.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about CureVac.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CureVac?

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 CureVac. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 CureVac's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

CureVac is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is dievini Hopp BioTech holding GmbH & Co. KG, with ownership of 31%. With 13% and 7.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, KfW, Asset Management Arm and GSK plc are the second and third largest shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 52% stake.

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 CureVac

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in CureVac N.V.. It has a market capitalization of just US$695m, and insiders have US$43m worth of shares, in their own names. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 37% stake in CureVac. 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.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 31% stake in CureVac. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 7.4% of the CureVac shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for CureVac you should be aware of.

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.