Nexters Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEV) insiders, who hold 48% of the firm would be disappointed by the recent pullback

Key Insights

• Nexters' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 58% ownership
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Nexters Inc. (NASDAQ:GDEV) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 48% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, insiders endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 40%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Nexters.

View our latest analysis for Nexters

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

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

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. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Nexters' earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Nexters. The company's largest shareholder is Everix Investments Limited, with ownership of 38%. The second and third largest shareholders are Andrey Fadeev and Boris Gertsovskiy, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 20%. Interestingly, the bottom two of the top three shareholders also hold the title of Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively, suggesting that these insiders have a personal stake in the company.

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.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Nexters

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. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 Nexters Inc.. Insiders have a US$328m stake in this US$678m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 14% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Nexters. 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 Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 38%, of the Nexters stock. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Nexters better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with Nexters (at least 2 which are a bit unpleasant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.