Stock Analysis

Do Directors Own dynaCERT Inc. (CVE:DYA) Shares?

TSX:DYA
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Every investor in dynaCERT Inc. (CVE:DYA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.

dynaCERT is a smaller company with a market capitalization of CA$317m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutions don't own shares in the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about dynaCERT.

View our latest analysis for dynaCERT

TSXV:DYA Ownership Summary, January 22nd 2020
TSXV:DYA Ownership Summary, January 22nd 2020

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About dynaCERT?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of dynaCERT, for yourself, below.

TSXV:DYA Income Statement, January 22nd 2020
TSXV:DYA Income Statement, January 22nd 2020

Hedge funds don't have many shares in dynaCERT. Eric Sprott is currently the largest shareholder, with 8.3% of shares outstanding. The second largest shareholder with 2.1%, is Raymond Hoffman, followed by Elliot Strashin, with an ownership of 2.1%. Elliot Strashin also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

Our studies suggest that the top 10 shareholders collectively control less than 50% 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. 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 dynaCERT

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of dynaCERT Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just CA$317m, and insiders have CA$44m worth of shares in their own names. I would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are mostly retail investors, collectively hold 84% of dynaCERT shares. With this size of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to decline an acquisition or merger that may not improve profitability.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand dynaCERT better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 6 warning signs for dynaCERT (of which 3 don't sit too well with us!) you should know about.

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.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.