Institutions profited after Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:OMEX) market cap rose US$19m last week but retail investors profited the most

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Odyssey Marine Exploration indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 47% ownership
• Institutions own 24% of Odyssey Marine Exploration

A look at the shareholders of Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMEX) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 51% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 22% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but institutions who own 24% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Odyssey Marine Exploration.

View our latest analysis for Odyssey Marine Exploration

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Odyssey Marine Exploration?

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 Odyssey Marine Exploration 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. 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 Odyssey Marine Exploration, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 20% of Odyssey Marine Exploration. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is FourWorld Capital Management LLC with 15% of shares outstanding. With 5.6% and 4.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Two Seas Capital LP and Greywolf Capital Management LP are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Mark Gordon is the owner of 1.3% of the company's shares.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Odyssey Marine Exploration

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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$4.5m worth of stock in the US$104m company. This shows at least some alignment, but we usually like to see larger insider holdings. 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 substantial 51% stake in Odyssey Marine Exploration, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Odyssey Marine Exploration you should be aware of, and 2 of them shouldn't be ignored.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free free list of interesting companies.

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.