Disappointing week for Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ) institutional investors who control 61% of the company

Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Core Scientific's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• 50% of the business is held by the top 23 shareholders
• Recent sales by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 61% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, institutional endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 7.1%.

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

See our latest analysis for Core Scientific

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Core Scientific?

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.

We can see that Core Scientific does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Core Scientific's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. It looks like hedge funds own 5.2% of Core Scientific 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. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc. with 5.6% of shares outstanding. With 5.2% and 4.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Beryl Capital Management LLC and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 23 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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Core Scientific

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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Core Scientific, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$259m. Most would see this as a real positive. Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 23% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Core Scientific. 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 3.8%, 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. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Core Scientific you should be aware of, and 2 of them are potentially serious.

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.