Gradiant Corporation's (KOSDAQ:035080) last week's 12% decline must have disappointed retail investors who have a significant stake

Key Insights

• Significant control over Gradiant by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 15 investors have a majority stake in the company with 40% ownership
• 33% of Gradiant is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Gradiant Corporation (KOSDAQ:035080), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 60% stake, retail investors 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).

Following a 12% decrease in the stock price last week, retail investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 33% stock also took a hit.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Gradiant

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Gradiant?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Gradiant. 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 Gradiant, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Gradiant. With a 33% stake, CEO Ki-Hyoung Lee is the largest shareholder. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 2.6% and 1.4%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 15 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. 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 Gradiant

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.

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 a reasonable proportion of Gradiant Corporation. It has a market capitalization of just ₩168b, and insiders have ₩56b worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 60% stake in Gradiant, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Gradiant .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.