In spite of recent selling, insiders at Copper Fox Metals Inc. (CVE:CUU) are the largest shareholders; own 60% shares

Key Insights

• Copper Fox Metals' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• Ernesto Echavarria owns 57% of the company
• Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Copper Fox Metals Inc. (CVE:CUU) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 60% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Insiders own the top position in the company’s share registry despite recent sales and as a result, were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 11% gain.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Copper Fox Metals, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Copper Fox Metals

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Copper Fox Metals?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Copper Fox Metals might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Copper Fox Metals. Our data shows that Ernesto Echavarria is the largest shareholder with 57% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. With 1.1% and 1.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, R. Mackay-Dunn and Elmer Stewart are the second and third largest shareholders. Elmer Stewart, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Copper Fox Metals

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Copper Fox Metals Inc.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. So they have a CA$83m stake in this CA$140m business. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 40% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Copper Fox Metals you should know about.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.