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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTYX), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 66% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Last week's US$18m market cap gain would probably be appreciated by institutional investors, especially after a year of 70% losses.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Ventyx Biosciences.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ventyx Biosciences?
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.
Ventyx Biosciences 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. 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 Ventyx Biosciences, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
NasdaqGS:VTYX Earnings and Revenue Growth May 4th 2025
Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Our data indicates that hedge funds own 12% of Ventyx Biosciences. 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. The company's largest shareholder is Bank of America Corporation, Asset Management Arm, with ownership of 6.5%. The second and third largest shareholders are BlackRock, Inc. and Citadel Advisors LLC, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 6.3%. In addition, we found that Raju Mohan, the CEO has 3.2% of the shares allocated to their name.
We also observed that the top 10 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.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Ventyx Biosciences
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 Ventyx Biosciences, Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own US$4.8m worth of the US$103m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
With a 11% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Ventyx Biosciences. 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 Equity Ownership
With a stake of 5.7%, private equity firms could influence the Ventyx Biosciences board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Ventyx Biosciences better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Ventyx Biosciences you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious.
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.
