After the recent decline, Optiemus Infracom Limited (NSE:OPTIEMUS) CEO Ashok Gupta's holdings have lost 12% of their value

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Optiemus Infracom implies vested interests in company growth
• The largest shareholder of the company is Ashok Gupta with a 58% stake
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in Optiemus Infracom Limited (NSE:OPTIEMUS) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 76% to be precise, is individual insiders. 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 ₹7.1b.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Optiemus Infracom, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Optiemus Infracom

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Optiemus Infracom?

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. 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 Optiemus Infracom, for yourself, below.

Optiemus Infracom is not owned by hedge funds. With a 58% stake, CEO Ashok Gupta is the largest shareholder. This essentially means that they have significant control over the outcome or future of the company, which is why insider ownership is usually looked upon favourably by prospective buyers. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.1% by the third-largest shareholder. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Neetesh Gupta is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

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 Optiemus Infracom

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. 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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Optiemus Infracom Limited. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of ₹53b, that means they have ₹40b worth of shares. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish todiscover (for free) if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 21% 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:

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 be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Optiemus Infracom .

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.