Key Insights

• Cassava Sciences' significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 36% ownership

• Institutions own 31% of Cassava Sciences

Every investor in Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 59% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And institutions on the other hand have a 31% ownership in the company. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Cassava Sciences

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cassava Sciences?

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.

Cassava Sciences 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 Cassava Sciences' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Cassava Sciences. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 7.2% of shares outstanding. With 5.9% and 5.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Remi Barbier and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. Remi Barbier, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

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.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.