Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies Palantir Technologies' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The top 25 shareholders own 40% of the company
• Using data from analyst forecasts alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 49% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to US$209b last week. However, the 256% one-year return to shareholders may have helped lessen their pain. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future.

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

View our latest analysis for Palantir Technologies

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Palantir Technologies?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Palantir Technologies. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Palantir Technologies' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Palantir Technologies is not owned by hedge funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 9.4% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.3% and 4.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Peter Thiel, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board. In addition, we found that Alexander Karp, the CEO has 2.4% of the shares allocated to their name.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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 Palantir Technologies

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 see that insiders own shares in Palantir Technologies Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$16b. we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 43% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Palantir Technologies. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Palantir Technologies that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report 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.

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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.