Key Insights

• CureVac's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership

• Institutions own 20% of CureVac

Every investor in CureVac N.V. (NASDAQ:CVAC) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 35% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Private equity firms, on the other hand, account for 31% of the company's stockholders.

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

View our latest analysis for CureVac

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CureVac?

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.

CureVac already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 CureVac, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

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

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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 CureVac

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.

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 report that insiders do own shares in CureVac N.V.. It has a market capitalization of just US$673m, and insiders have US$42m 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 35% 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

With a stake of 31%, private equity firms could influence the CureVac board. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for CureVac you should know about.

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.