Cirata plc (LON:CRTA) surges 14%; retail investors who own 49% shares profited along with institutions

Key Insights

• Cirata's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 19 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Recent purchases by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Cirata plc (LON:CRTA), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 49% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched UK£80m last week, while institutions who own 18% also benefitted.

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

See our latest analysis for Cirata

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cirata?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Cirata. 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 Cirata's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 12% of Cirata. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Global Frontier Investments, LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. Global Frontier Opportunities, Llc is the second largest shareholder owning 5.8% of common stock, and Richard Griffiths holds about 5.5% of the company stock. In addition, we found that Stephen Kelly, the CEO has 1.6% of the shares allocated to their name.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 19 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Cirata

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 Cirata plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£80m, and insiders have UK£9.4m worth of shares in their own names. We 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-- including retail investors -- own 49% 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 9.0%, of the Cirata 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. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Cirata (3 are a bit unpleasant) that you should be aware of.

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.