Retail investors invested in Volpara Health Technologies Limited (ASX:VHT) copped the brunt of last week's AU$19m market cap decline

Key Insights

• Volpara Health Technologies' significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 24 shareholders own 44% of the company
• Insiders own 24% of Volpara Health Technologies

Every investor in Volpara Health Technologies Limited (ASX:VHT) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 56% to be precise, is retail investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While insiders, who own 24% shares weren’t spared from last week’s AU$19m market cap drop, retail investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Volpara Health Technologies.

Check out our latest analysis for Volpara Health Technologies

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Volpara Health Technologies?

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.

Volpara Health Technologies already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Volpara Health Technologies' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Volpara Health Technologies. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Harbour Asset Management Limited with 15% of shares outstanding. With 7.3% and 6.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Roger Allen and Ralph Highnam are the second and third largest shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 24 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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Volpara Health Technologies

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Volpara Health Technologies Limited. Insiders own AU$39m worth of shares in the AU$165m company. 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 -- including retail investors -- own 56% of Volpara Health Technologies. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

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.