Key Insights

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Hikma Pharmaceuticals' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership Using data from  analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

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If you want to know who really controls Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (LON:HIK), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

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

See our latest analysis for Hikma Pharmaceuticals LSE:HIK Ownership Breakdown April 12th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hikma Pharmaceuticals?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals 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. 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 Hikma Pharmaceuticals' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.LSE:HIK Earnings and Revenue Growth April 12th 2025

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Hikma Pharmaceuticals. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Darhold Ltd. with 27% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.7% and 3.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

Story Continues

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Hikma Pharmaceuticals

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth UK£85m. Most would see this as a real positive. It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 13% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 28%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Hikma Pharmaceuticals has  1 warning sign  we think you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this freereport on analyst forecasts .

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.

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