Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc.'s (NASDAQ:MFH) market cap rose US$28m last week; individual investors who hold 39% profited and so did insiders

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Mercurity Fintech Holding indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 54% ownership
• 27% of Mercurity Fintech Holding is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc. (NASDAQ:MFH), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 39% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 37% price gain, insiders also received a 27% cut.

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

View our latest analysis for Mercurity Fintech Holding

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mercurity Fintech Holding?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Mercurity Fintech Holding. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Mercurity Fintech Holding, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Mercurity Fintech Holding. Our data shows that Apollo Multi Asset Management LLP is the largest shareholder with 23% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 8.6% and 7.6% of the stock.

On looking further, we found that 54% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in 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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Mercurity Fintech Holding

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Mercurity Fintech Holding Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$106m, and insiders have US$29m 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-- including retail investors -- own 39% 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 9.9%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

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 3 warning signs we've spotted with Mercurity Fintech Holding (including 2 which are a bit unpleasant) .

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.