Individual investors are ZenaTech, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ZENA) biggest owners and were rewarded after market cap rose by US$40m last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in ZenaTech indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 54% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• 22% of ZenaTech is held by insiders

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Every investor in ZenaTech, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZENA) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 32% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, individual investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit US$129m market cap following a 45% gain in the stock.

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

View our latest analysis for ZenaTech

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ZenaTech?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in ZenaTech. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see ZenaTech's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in ZenaTech. Epazz, Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 25% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 20% and 9.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Shaun Passley, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

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 54% stake.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of ZenaTech

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of ZenaTech, Inc.. Insiders own US$29m worth of shares in the US$129m company. 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

With a 32% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over ZenaTech. 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 4.7%, of the ZenaTech 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 31% of ZenaTech stock. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand ZenaTech better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for ZenaTech (2 make us uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.