Insiders have been selling Airship AI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AISP) recently yet still hold a significant stake; 14% drop last week not ideal

Explore Airship AI Holdings's Fair Values from the Community and select yours

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Airship AI Holdings implies vested interests in company growth
• 51% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Insiders have sold recently

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Every investor in Airship AI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:AISP) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 42% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Even though insiders have sold shares recently, the group owns the most numbers of shares in the company. Following last week's 14% decline in share price, the group also suffered the most losses.

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

See our latest analysis for Airship AI Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Airship AI Holdings?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Airship AI Holdings already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Airship AI Holdings, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

It would appear that 16% of Airship AI Holdings shares are controlled by hedge funds. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Airship AI Holdings' case, its Top Key Executive, Derek Xu, is the largest shareholder, holding 23% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 16% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 12% by the third-largest shareholder. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Victor Huang is also a Chairman of the Board, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 51% stake.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Airship AI Holdings

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Airship AI Holdings, Inc.. Insiders have a US$69m stake in this US$162m business. 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-- including retail investors -- own 29% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

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. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Airship AI Holdings (including 3 which make us uncomfortable) .

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.