Positive week for Viaplay Group AB (publ) (STO:VPLAY B) institutional investors who lost 17% over the past year

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Viaplay Group's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 59% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

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If you want to know who really controls Viaplay Group AB (publ) (STO:VPLAY B), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Institutional investors would probably welcome last week's 11% increase in the share price after a year of 17% losses as a sign that returns may to begin trending higher.

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

See our latest analysis for Viaplay Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Viaplay Group?

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.

Viaplay Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Viaplay Group, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Viaplay Group is not owned by hedge funds. Canal+ SA is currently the largest shareholder, with 29% of shares outstanding. With 29% and 11% of the shares outstanding respectively, PPF Capital Management AS and Nordea Investment Management, AB are the second and third largest shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Viaplay Group

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Viaplay Group AB (publ) in their own names. It appears that the board holds about kr17m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of kr3.1b. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 22% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Viaplay Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 30% of the Viaplay Group shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Viaplay Group has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.