While insiders own 19% of BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), private equity firms are its largest shareholders with 43% ownership

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private equity firms in BioNTech indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 2 shareholders own 60% of the company
• Insiders own 19% of BioNTech

Every investor in BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 43% stake, private equity firms possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, individual insiders make up 19% of the company’s shareholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

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

Check out our latest analysis for BioNTech

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About BioNTech?

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.

We can see that BioNTech does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company’s stock. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of BioNTech, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don’t have a meaningful investment in BioNTech. AT Impf GmbH is currently the company’s largest shareholder with 43% of shares outstanding. With 17% and 3.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Ugur Sahin and Baillie Gifford & Co. are the second and third largest shareholders. Ugur Sahin, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. 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 BioNTech

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of BioNTech SE. Insiders own US$4.0b worth of shares in the US$21b company. That’s quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 19% stake in BioNTech. 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 43% stake in BioNTech. 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 BioNTech better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that BioNTech is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is concerning…

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.

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.

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