With 48% ownership in DocGo Inc. (NASDAQ:DCGO), institutional investors have a lot riding on the business

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in DocGo implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• The top 18 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders have been selling lately

To get a sense of who is truly in control of DocGo Inc. (NASDAQ:DCGO), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is institutions. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 15% last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 44% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

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

Check out our latest analysis for DocGo

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About DocGo?

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 DocGo does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 DocGo's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

It looks like hedge funds own 8.9% of DocGo shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Deerfield Management Company, L.P. Series C is currently the company's largest shareholder with 8.9% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.0% and 5.1% of the stock.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 18 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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

Insider Ownership Of DocGo

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in DocGo Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$512m, and insiders have US$40m worth of shares, in their own names. This shows at least some alignment. 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 35% stake in DocGo. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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. Be aware that DocGo is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those shouldn't be ignored...

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.