Ovzon AB (publ)'s (STO:OVZON) market cap dropped kr452m last week; individual investors who hold 57% were hit as were institutions

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Ovzon indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 43% of the business is held by the top 20 shareholders
• Insiders have been buying lately

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A look at the shareholders of Ovzon AB (publ) (STO:OVZON) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 57% to be precise, is individual investors. 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 individual investors took a hit after last week’s 11% price drop, institutions with their 24% holdings also suffered.

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

View our latest analysis for Ovzon

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ovzon?

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.

We can see that Ovzon does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Ovzon's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Ovzon is not owned by hedge funds. Investment AB Öresund (publ) is currently the company's largest shareholder with 12% of shares outstanding. With 8.8% and 5.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Bure Equity AB (publ) and Erik Afors are the second and third largest shareholders.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 20 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. 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 Ovzon

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. 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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Ovzon AB (publ). In their own names, insiders own kr226m worth of stock in the kr3.6b company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 57% stake in Ovzon, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 8.8%, private equity firms could influence the Ovzon board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 4.2%, of the Ovzon stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Ovzon better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.