Stephen Fitzpatrick Vertical Aerospace Ltd.'s (NYSE:EVTL) CEO is the most bullish insider, and their stock value gained 11%last week

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Vertical Aerospace's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• Stephen Fitzpatrick owns 70% of the company
• Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (NYSE:EVTL), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 70% stake, individual insiders 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).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit US$177m market cap following a 11% gain in the stock.

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

See our latest analysis for Vertical Aerospace

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Vertical Aerospace?

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.

Less than 5% of Vertical Aerospace is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Vertical Aerospace. The company's CEO Stephen Fitzpatrick is the largest shareholder with 70% of shares outstanding. This implies that they possess majority interests and have significant control over the company. Investors usually consider it a good sign when the company leadership has such a significant stake, as this is widely perceived to increase the chance that the management will act in the best interests of the company. American Airlines Group Inc. is the second largest shareholder owning 5.1% of common stock, and Marcus Waley-Cohen holds about 0.3% of the company stock.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Vertical Aerospace

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of Vertical Aerospace Ltd.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Given it has a market cap of US$177m, that means they have US$125m worth of shares. 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-- including retail investors -- own 23% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 5.1% of Vertical Aerospace. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Vertical Aerospace is showing 6 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 3 of those are potentially serious...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.