After the recent decline, Avax S.A. (ATH:AVAX) Top Key Executive Christos Ioannou's holdings have lost 13% of their value

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Avax implies vested interests in company growth
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 57% ownership
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of Avax S.A. (ATH:AVAX), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 67% stake, individual insiders possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, insiders as a group endured the highest losses after market cap fell by €41m.

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

View our latest analysis for Avax

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Avax?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Avax. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Avax. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Avax's case, its Top Key Executive, Christos Ioannou, is the largest shareholder, holding 31% of shares outstanding. With 18% and 8.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Konstantine Mitzalis and Konstantine Kouvaras are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the second and third-largest shareholders also happen to be the Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman, respectively. This once again signifies considerable insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of 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 Avax

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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 own more than half of Avax S.A.. This gives them effective control of the company. That means they own €189m worth of shares in the €282m company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 30% stake in Avax. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Avax (including 2 which are potentially serious) .

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.