Stock Analysis

    Is Casper Sleep Inc.'s (NYSE:CSPR) Shareholder Ownership Skewed Towards Insiders?

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    The big shareholder groups in Casper Sleep Inc. (NYSE:CSPR) have power over the company. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. I quite like to see at least a little bit of insider ownership. As Charlie Munger said 'Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.

    Casper Sleep is a smaller company with a market capitalization of US$316m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Casper Sleep.

    Check out our latest analysis for Casper Sleep

    ownership-breakdown
    NYSE:CSPR Ownership Breakdown March 29th 2021

    What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Casper Sleep?

    Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

    As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Casper Sleep. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Casper Sleep's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

    earnings-and-revenue-growth
    NYSE:CSPR Earnings and Revenue Growth March 29th 2021

    We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Casper Sleep. The company's largest shareholder is New Enterprise Associates, Inc., with ownership of 15%. With 7.1% and 6.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Red Cart Ventures LLC and Institutional Venture Partners are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Philip Krim, the CEO has 5.5% of the shares allocated to their name.

    We also observed that the top 8 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

    While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

    Insider Ownership Of Casper Sleep

    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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

    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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Casper Sleep Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$316m, and insiders have US$51m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

    General Public Ownership

    The general public holds a 29% stake in Casper Sleep. 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.

    Private Equity Ownership

    With a stake of 28%, private equity firms could influence the Casper Sleep board. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

    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 Casper Sleep is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

    If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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. 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.
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