Recent 13% pullback would hurt WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling A/S (OB:WPU) insiders

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 3 shareholders own 54% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

Every investor in WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling A/S (OB:WPU) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 63% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And following last week's 13% decline in share price, insiders suffered the most losses.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling.

Check out our latest analysis for WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. 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 WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling, for yourself, below.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling. The company's largest shareholder is Niels Stielund, with ownership of 22%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 21% and 10% of the stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Niels Bagge directly holds 1.0% of the total shares outstanding.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 54% stake.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

It seems that insiders own more than half the WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling A/S stock. This gives them a lot of power. So they have a kr783m stake in this kr1.2b business. Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 37% stake in WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling. 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. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for WPU - Waste Plastic Upcycling (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.