Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Exscientia indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• Insiders own 15% of Exscientia

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Exscientia plc (NASDAQ:EXAI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 37% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While institutions, who own 37% shares weren't spared from last week's US$85m market cap drop, individual investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Exscientia?

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.

Exscientia 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 Exscientia's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Exscientia. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is SoftBank Group Corp., Investment Arm with 15% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 15% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 11% by the third-largest shareholder.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 Exscientia

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. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Exscientia plc. It has a market capitalization of just US$643m, and insiders have US$99m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 37% stake in Exscientia. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 11% of Exscientia stock. 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 for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Exscientia , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.