GIANTSTEP Inc.'s (KOSDAQ:289220) market cap rose ₩21b last week; retail investors who hold 58% profited and so did insiders

Key Insights

• GIANTSTEP's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 42% of the business is held by the top 21 shareholders
• 38% of GIANTSTEP is held by insiders

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If you want to know who really controls GIANTSTEP Inc. (KOSDAQ:289220), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 58% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched ₩181b last week, while insiders who own 38% also benefitted.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of GIANTSTEP.

Check out our latest analysis for GIANTSTEP

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GIANTSTEP?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

Since institutions own only a small portion of GIANTSTEP, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in GIANTSTEP. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Seungbong Ha with 17% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.3% and 4.8%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 21 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of GIANTSTEP

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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 maintain a significant holding in GIANTSTEP Inc.. Insiders have a ₩69b stake in this ₩181b business. 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 58% of GIANTSTEP. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for GIANTSTEP (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.