Energy Vault Holdings, Inc.'s (NYSE:NRGV) 11% loss last week hit both individual investors who own 38% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• Energy Vault Holdings' significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 13 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insiders have sold recently

A look at the shareholders of Energy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:NRGV) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 38% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 11% decrease in the stock price last week, individual investors suffered the most losses, but institutions who own 25% stock also took a hit.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Energy Vault Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Energy Vault Holdings?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Energy Vault Holdings 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 Energy Vault Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Energy Vault Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is SB Investment Advisers (UK) Limited with 12% of shares outstanding. Robert Piconi is the second largest shareholder owning 11% of common stock, and SailingStone Capital Partners LLC holds about 5.4% of the company stock. Robert Piconi, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 13 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Energy Vault Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Energy Vault Holdings, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$127m, and insiders have US$25m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 38% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Energy Vault Holdings. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 17% stake in Energy Vault Holdings. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Energy Vault Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Energy Vault Holdings that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.