Exploring FormFactor, Inc. (FORM) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at FormFactor, Inc. (FORM) and asking the right question: with a market capitalization around $3.91 billion as of November 2025, who is actually driving the bus, and why? The direct takeaway is that this is defintely an institutional-grade stock, with nearly 99% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, not retail traders. Think of it this way: the top three holders-BlackRock, Inc., Vanguard Group Inc, and Earnest Partners LLC-control over 35% of the company, with BlackRock, Inc. alone holding over 11.2 million shares valued at roughly $563.49 million. That level of concentration means you need to understand their thesis, especially as the company navigates a semiconductor landscape where Q3 2025 revenue hit $202.7 million, yet insider selling, like the CEO's recent sale of 8,403 shares for over $420,000, signals a complex internal view. Are these giants accumulating for the long-term High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and Advanced Packaging tailwinds, or are they managing risk around the consensus 'Hold' rating and average price target of $53.13? Let's break down the money flows and motivations behind the biggest buyers.

Who Invests in FormFactor, Inc. (FORM) and Why?

The investor profile for FormFactor, Inc. (FORM) is dominated by large, sophisticated financial institutions who are betting on the long-term growth of the semiconductor testing market, particularly in high-growth areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). Simply put, this is a stock for the professional money manager, not the average retail investor.

As of late 2025, institutional investors own a staggering 98.76% of the company's shares, according to recent filings. This means the stock's daily price action is mostly driven by the decisions of mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds, not individual traders. For all practical purposes, retail ownership is negligible, registering at approximately 0.00%.

Key Investor Types: The Institutional Giants

When you look at who holds the largest positions, you see the titans of asset management. These are typically passive index funds or large, long-only active managers. They hold FormFactor, Inc. as a core component of their semiconductor or technology-focused portfolios.

• BlackRock, Inc.: The largest shareholder, holding approximately 11,236,145 shares, which represents about 14.50% of the company.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: The second largest, with around 10,299,864 shares, or 13.29% ownership.
• Earnest Partners LLC: A significant active manager holding about 5,947,088 shares, making up 7.67%.

You can see the pattern: passive funds like BlackRock and Vanguard are required to own the stock because it's in the indices they track, but the sheer size of their holdings makes them the most defintely influential owners.

Investment Motivations: The HBM and Margin Story

The primary attraction for these large institutional investors is not a dividend-FormFactor, Inc. does not pay one-but a clear, high-growth narrative tied to the future of computing and a solid financial base. It's a pure growth play based on market position.

The 2025 fiscal year data confirms this focus. In the third quarter of 2025, the company reported quarterly revenues of $202.7 million, and non-GAAP net income of $25.7 million. The key drivers are:

• AI and HBM Growth: The DRAM probe cards segment saw double-digit sequential growth in Q3 2025, setting a new record, primarily driven by demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). This is the critical testing component for AI chips.
• Profitability Turnaround: Management is executing a plan to improve the non-GAAP gross margin from 41.0% in Q3 2025 to a target model of 47%. They are anticipating an additional 100 basis point increase in Q4 2025.
• Financial Strength: The company maintains a very low debt-to-equity ratio of around 0.01, giving it massive financial flexibility for strategic investments, like the new manufacturing facility in Farmers Branch, Texas.

Here's the quick math: Q3 non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.33, and the outlook for Q4 is approximately $0.35. That sequential earnings growth, driven by HBM and margin improvement, is what keeps the growth funds buying.

Investment Strategies: High-Conviction Growth Bets

The strategies at play are overwhelmingly long-term growth and high-conviction value-in-growth investing. The stock's high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which was around 94.33 in November 2025, clearly signals that investors are paying for future earnings, not current ones.

We see two main strategies among the active investors:

1. Long-Term Growth Holding: Firms like BlackRock and Vanguard are essentially permanent holders, aligning with the secular trend of increasing test intensity in the semiconductor industry.
2. High-Conviction Buying: Certain hedge funds and active managers are making massive, concentrated bets based on the margin improvement and HBM cycle. For instance, in a single quarter, Select Equity Group, L.P. increased its stake by an astonishing 3096%, and D. E. Shaw & Co., Inc. boosted its position by 706%. That's not short-term trading; that's a conviction call on the company's future value.

The company also uses its capital to offset dilution from stock-based compensation, which is a key capital allocation strategy. They had $70.9 million remaining under their $75 million share repurchase program approved in April 2025. This is a shareholder-friendly action that supports the stock price, which is always a plus for long-term holders.

If you want to understand the full context of this investment thesis, you should look at the company's foundation and business model: FormFactor, Inc. (FORM): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money. It's all about the role they play in the IC life cycle.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of FormFactor, Inc. (FORM)

You need to know who is really steering the boat at FormFactor, Inc. (FORM), and the short answer is: the institutions. They don't just own a large piece; they own virtually the whole pie. As of November 2025, institutional investors and hedge funds hold an extraordinarily high percentage of the company's stock, ranging from 98.76% to 99.2% of the shares outstanding.

This level of concentration means that the stock's movement and, defintely, the company's long-term strategy are heavily influenced by the decisions of a few hundred massive funds. Here's the quick math: with institutional ownership so high, any coordinated buying or selling can create significant volatility, which is a key risk you need to watch.

Top Institutional Investors: Who Holds the Keys?

When you look at the shareholder list for FormFactor, you see the titans of the asset management world. These are the passive index funds and large active managers who view FormFactor as a core holding in the semiconductor equipment space. The top three institutional holders alone account for over 25% of the total shares held by institutions, based on filings from the second quarter of 2025.

The largest holders are primarily passive managers, meaning they buy and hold the stock to match a specific index like the Russell 2000 or the S&P Small-Cap. This passive capital provides a strong, stable base for the stock. Still, the active managers' decisions are what drive the momentum.

• BlackRock, Inc.: Holds the largest stake with 11,366,550 shares, valued at approximately $629.25 million as of June 29, 2025.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: The second largest, holding 10,290,895 shares, valued at about $569.70 million as of the same date.
• EARNEST Partners, LLC: A significant active manager with 6,089,227 shares, valued at $337.10 million.

Recent Shifts: Are Institutions Buying or Selling?

The trend over the last year is a clear net inflow of institutional capital, which is a strong signal of confidence. In the last 12 months leading up to November 2025, total institutional inflows were a robust $847.58 million, significantly outpacing the $338.57 million in total outflows. This tells you that more money is coming into the stock than is leaving it, suggesting a bullish conviction among the big players.

This accumulation is happening through both new stakes and dramatic increases in existing positions. For example, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position by a massive 170.2% in the second quarter of 2025, bringing its total to 2,094,421 shares worth $72.07 million. In the third quarter of 2025, Reinhart Partners LLC. also boosted its stake by 26.3%, acquiring an additional 500,156 shares. New money is also entering: Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a brand-new stake in Q3 2025 valued at approximately $37.39 million. That's a serious commitment.

Impact of Institutional Buyers: The 'Why' Behind the Money

The role of these large investors is twofold: they provide capital stability and they validate the company's strategic direction. Institutions are buying FormFactor, Inc. because they are betting on its exposure to high-growth, high-margin segments of the semiconductor industry, particularly the advanced chip and Artificial Intelligence (AI) markets.

The core investment thesis is simple: FormFactor's probe cards and systems are essential for testing the complex chips powering AI, custom application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and advanced connectivity solutions. This expanding presence in AI is what drives the bullish narrative. You can see how this ties into the company's financial outlook; management is focused on margin expansion, expecting to achieve a non-GAAP gross margin of 41% in Q3 2025 and projecting an additional 100 basis point increase in Q4 2025, aiming for a long-term model of 47%.

So, the big money isn't just chasing the stock's recent 36.8% one-month return; they are investing in the long-term profitability story driven by the industry's shift to advanced semiconductors. To understand the full context of this investment thesis, you should read Breaking Down FormFactor, Inc. (FORM) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

The immediate action for you is to monitor the next round of 13F filings in early 2026. If the net institutional inflows continue to accelerate, it will confirm the bullish thesis on the AI-driven margin expansion.

Key Investors and Their Impact on FormFactor, Inc. (FORM)

You're looking at FormFactor, Inc. (FORM) and trying to figure out who's really driving the stock. The short answer is: institutions. As of late 2025, institutional investors and hedge funds own a staggering 98.76% of the company's stock, making this a classic institutionally-dominated semiconductor play.

This means your investment decision is defintely tied to how these massive funds move, not to retail sentiment. The top holders are the big indexing and asset management giants, who buy for portfolio diversification and market-tracking purposes, but their sheer size gives them immense, albeit mostly passive, influence.

The Giants: BlackRock, Vanguard, and Passive Power

The investor profile for FormFactor, Inc. is dominated by the world's largest asset managers. These firms aren't typically activist investors; they are passive giants whose influence comes from their enormous capital and their role as index trackers. Their presence signals that FormFactor, Inc. is a core component of the broader semiconductor and small-cap technology indices.

Here's the quick math on the top two as of the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year:

• BlackRock, Inc.: Holds approximately 11.24 million shares, valued at about $563.49 million.
• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: Holds approximately 10.30 million shares, valued at about $516.54 million.

When firms like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. hold such large stakes, their influence is primarily through proxy voting on management proposals, board elections, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters. They don't usually demand a sale of the company, but they can-and do-push for better corporate governance and long-term strategic alignment. One clean one-liner: Their vote is the ultimate veto power.

Recent Moves: The Q2/Q3 2025 Accumulation Trend

The recent trading activity shows a clear trend of institutional accumulation, suggesting a bullish outlook on FormFactor, Inc.'s core business-especially its role in advanced packaging and chiplet technology. This is a critical signal for you, as it shows smart money is buying into the long-term growth story, despite a high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 96.96.

Several notable institutions made significant moves in the second and third quarters of 2025, buying large stakes or dramatically increasing their existing positions. This trend is a strong indicator of confidence in the company's future revenue, which saw a 14.3% increase in Q2 2025 from the prior quarter.

To be fair, not all news is accumulation. Insider selling is also a factor. For example, CEO Mike Slessor sold 8,403 shares on November 19, 2025, for about $420,654. While this is a small percentage of his total holdings, it's a standard risk to map: executives taking some money off the table after a strong stock run. You should balance the massive institutional buying against this insider profit-taking.

The Largest Individual Holder and Strategic Alignment

Beyond the funds, the largest individual shareholder is often a key indicator of long-term belief in the company's vision. For FormFactor, Inc., that is Igor Y. Khandros, an insider, who holds approximately 2.78 million shares, valued at about $139.39 million. His stake, representing around 3.59% of the company, is a powerful vote of confidence from someone who knows the business intimately.

The takeaway here is that the market is valuing FormFactor, Inc. not just on its current financial health, but on its future potential in the semiconductor capital equipment sector. For a deeper dive into the financials that are attracting this capital, you should read Breaking Down FormFactor, Inc. (FORM) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Your next step is to monitor the next round of 13F filings in early 2026 to see if the accumulation trend by firms like Bank of New York Mellon Corp continues, as that will confirm their long-term conviction in the company's strategic focus on the next generation of chip testing.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You're looking at FormFactor, Inc. (FORM) and seeing a stock that's moved significantly-up over 58% in the past six months, which is defintely a big run. The core investor sentiment here is a fascinating mix: institutional money is piling in with conviction, yet the overall analyst community is still sitting on a cautious 'Hold' average, which signals a great opportunity for a deeper look.

Honestly, the big money is already a believer. Institutional investors own a massive chunk of FormFactor, Inc., holding about 98.76% of the stock. Over the last 12 months, the total institutional inflow-meaning buying-was a substantial $847.58 million, far outpacing the outflows of $338.57 million. This suggests that portfolio managers see a clear, near-term growth story, likely tied to the semiconductor cycle and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) tailwind.

The institutional conviction is clear, but the market's reaction is still volatile. We saw a massive 23.9% surge in the stock price right after the company reported strong third-quarter 2025 results. But, to be fair, the stock also fell 6.4% in early November 2025 as part of a wider sell-off in AI-related stocks, showing how sensitive the market is to sector-wide valuation concerns.

Key Institutional Ownership Moves (Q2/Q3 2025)

Understanding who is buying gives you a clearer picture of the investment thesis. The recent institutional moves show a focus on increasing exposure to FormFactor, Inc. (FORM)'s technology, particularly its probe cards for memory and logic testing.

• Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position by 170.2% in Q2 2025.
• Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its stake by 26.3% in Q3 2025, adding over 500,156 shares.
• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake valued at about $37.39 million in Q3 2025.

Here's the quick math on one major holder: Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 2,404,854 shares of FormFactor, Inc. stock, valued at around $87.58 million as of the third quarter 2025. That's a serious bet on the company's future performance. You can read more about the company's foundation and ownership structure here: FormFactor, Inc. (FORM): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Analyst Perspectives and Price Targets

The analyst community is playing catch-up with the institutional buying, which is often a good sign for continued momentum. The consensus rating is a split decision, with an average price target that suggests moderate upside from the current price, but the range is wide.

The average 12-month price target is around $55.44, representing a potential upside of about 13.89% from a recent price of $48.68. But what's more telling are the recent, aggressive price target hikes following the strong Q3 2025 earnings report:

The key takeaway from these analyst moves is the focus on FormFactor, Inc.'s exposure to High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and co-packaged optics. These are critical, high-growth areas in advanced chip manufacturing. The company's Q3 2025 non-GAAP EPS of $0.33 beat the consensus of $0.25, and their Q4 2025 revenue guidance of $210 million $\pm$ $5 million$ was also well ahead of expectations. When you see multiple analysts raise their targets by 50% or more, you know they are re-rating the entire growth trajectory, not just the next quarter.

The consensus full-year 2025 EPS estimate is now around $0.90, with some analysts projecting revenue as high as $793.74 million. This strong performance and optimistic outlook are what's fueling the institutional buying, despite the occasional insider selling, like the CEO's sale of 8,403 shares for $420,689 in November 2025, which was executed automatically via a pre-arranged trading plan. That's typically a non-event for the long-term thesis.