Today, I will be analyzing Co-Diagnostics Inc’s (NASDAQ:CODX) recent ownership structure, an important but not-so-popular subject among individual investors. A company’s ownership structure is often linked to its share performance in both the long- and short-term. If an activist institution invests the same amount of capital in a stock as a passive long-term pension fund, the implications are potentially different for key corporate financing decisions such as the use of excess cash or the source of financing. While these are more of a long-term investor’s concern, short-term investors may find the impact of institutional trading overwhelming enough to lose out on what could be a potential opportunity. Therefore, it is beneficial for us to examine CODX’s ownership structure in more detail.
See our latest analysis for Co-DiagnosticsInstitutional Ownership
Institutional investors are one of the largest group of market participants and their buy-sell decisions on a company’s stock can significantly impact prices, more so, when there are relatively small amounts of shares available on the market to trade. With an institutional ownership of 1.60%, CODX doesn’t seem too exposed to higher volatility resulting from institutional trading. Low coverage stocks like CODX tend to be favourite picks of legendary investor Peter Lynch, who used to cash in on the rally supported by institutional buying as the stock gained popularity.Insider Ownership
Insiders form another group of important ownership types as they manage the company’s operations and decide the best use of capital. Insider ownership has been linked to better alignment between management and shareholders. 18.62% ownership of CODX insiders is large enough to make an impact on shareholder returns. In general, this level of insider ownership has negatively affected underperforming (consistently low PE ratio) companies and positively affected the companies that outperform (consistently high PE ratio). Another aspect of insider ownership is to learn about their recent transactions. While insider buying is possibly a sign of a positive outlook for the company, selling doesn’t necessarily indicate a negative outlook as they may be selling to meet personal financial needs.General Public Ownership
A substantial ownership of 51.24% in CODX is held by the general public. This size of ownership gives retail investors collective power in deciding on major policy decisions such as executive compensation, appointment of directors and acquisitions of businesses. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and potential acquisitions. This is a positive sign for an investor who wants to be involved in key decision-making of the company.Private Equity Ownership
With an ownership of 10.59%, private equity firms are a major stakeholder in CODX and are in a position to play an important role in shaping up corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. This is a positive sign for potential investors as these firms play an important role in aligning company policy with shareholder returns.Private Company Ownership
Potential investors in CODX should also look at another important group of investors: private companies, with a stake of 17.95%, who are primarily invested because of strategic and capital gain interests. An ownership of this size indicates a strong financial backing and has the potential to influence CODX’s business strategy. Thus, investors should dig deeper into CODX’s business relations with these companies and how it can affect shareholder returns in the long-term.What this means for you:
With a low level of institutional ownership, investors in CODX need not worry about non-fundamental factors such as ownership structure causing large impact on stock prices. However, ownership structure should not be the only determining factor when you’re building an investment thesis for CODX. Instead, you should be evaluating company-specific factors such as the intrinsic valuation, which is a key driver of Co-Diagnostics’s share price. I highly recommend you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:
1. Financial Health: Is CODX’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.
2. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.