Soop Co., Ltd.'s (KOSDAQ:067160) market cap dropped ₩94b last week; individual investors who hold 39% were hit as were institutions

Key Insights

• Soop's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• 33% of Soop is held by Institutions

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A look at the shareholders of Soop Co., Ltd. (KOSDAQ:067160) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors 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).

While the holdings of retail investors took a hit after last week’s 9.6% price drop, institutions with their 33% holdings also suffered.

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

See our latest analysis for Soop

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Soop?

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 Soop. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Soop, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Soop. Saint International Co. Ltd is currently the company's largest shareholder with 28% of shares outstanding. With 8.8% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, UBS Asset Management AG and Morgan Stanley, Investment Banking and Brokerage Investments are the second and third largest shareholders.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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 are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Soop

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 less than 1% of Soop Co., Ltd.. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. It appears that the board holds about ₩1.0b worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of ₩878b. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 39% 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 28%, of the Soop stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.