Individual investors who hold 51% of LiveOne, Inc. (NASDAQ:LVO) gained 15%, institutions profited as well

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in LiveOne indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 47% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insider ownership in LiveOne is 11%

A look at the shareholders of LiveOne, Inc. (NASDAQ:LVO) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 51% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 15% price gain, institutions also received a 27% cut.

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

See our latest analysis for LiveOne

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About LiveOne?

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.

LiveOne already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 LiveOne's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 10% of LiveOne. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Trinad Capital Management, LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 10% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.3% and 7.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Robert Ellin, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of LiveOne

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of LiveOne, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$117m, and insiders have US$13m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 51% of LiveOne shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand LiveOne better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for LiveOne (of which 2 can't be ignored!) 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. 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.