Key Insights

• Significant control over Cardiff Oncology by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 25 shareholders own 40% of the company
• Recent purchases by insiders

A look at the shareholders of Cardiff Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRDF) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 25% of the company’s shareholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Cardiff Oncology, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Cardiff Oncology

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cardiff Oncology?

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 Cardiff Oncology does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Cardiff Oncology, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 11% of Cardiff Oncology. 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 Commodore Capital LP with 11% of shares outstanding. With 5.3% and 4.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and Pfizer Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Cardiff Oncology

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Cardiff Oncology, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$218m, and insiders have US$5.7m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 57% of Cardiff Oncology. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 4.7% of the Cardiff Oncology shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cardiff Oncology better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 5 warning signs for Cardiff Oncology (3 make us uncomfortable) that 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.