The recent pullback must have dismayed GDEV Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEV) insiders who own 47% of the company

Key Insights

• GDEV's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• 63% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

To get a sense of who is truly in control of GDEV Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEV), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to US$505m last week, insiders would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about GDEV.

View our latest analysis for GDEV

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GDEV?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of GDEV, for yourself, below.

GDEV is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Everix Investments Limited with 41% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 22% and 16% of the stock. Andrey Fadeev, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of GDEV

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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of GDEV Inc.. Insiders own US$237m worth of shares in the US$505m company. 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

With a 12% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over GDEV. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 41%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for GDEV that you should be aware of.

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.