Plejd AB (publ) (FRA:3CA) insiders still own 39% despite recent sales, but recent decline may have cost them

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Plejd's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• 56% of the business is held by the top 6 shareholders
• Recent sales by insiders

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If you want to know who really controls Plejd AB (publ) (FRA:3CA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 39% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And our data suggests that insiders own the top position in the company’s share registry despite recent sales. As a result, they were also the group to endure the biggest losses as the stock fell by 5.0%.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Plejd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Plejd?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Plejd. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Plejd's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Plejd is not owned by hedge funds. Christian von Koenigsegg is currently the largest shareholder, with 13% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 12% and 8.7%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. In addition, we found that Babak Esfahani, the CEO has 7.0% of the shares allocated to their name.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Plejd

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Plejd AB (publ). Insiders own €4.0b worth of shares in the €10b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 15% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Plejd. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 7.3%, of the Plejd stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Plejd , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.