What Kind Of Shareholders Hold The Majority In Otonomo Technologies Ltd.’s (NASDAQ:OTMO) Shares?

If you want to know who really controls Otonomo Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:TOMO), then you’ll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Warren Buffett said that he likes “a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people.” So it’s nice to see some insider ownership, because it may suggest that management is owner-oriented.

Otonomo Technologies is a smaller company with a market capitalization of US$123m, so it may still be flying under the radar of many institutional investors. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. We can zoom in on the different ownership groups, to learn more about Otonomo Technologies.

Check out our latest analysis for Otonomo Technologies

ownership-breakdown

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Otonomo Technologies?

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.

We can see that Otonomo Technologies 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. 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 Otonomo Technologies’ historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there’s always more to the story.

earnings-and-revenue-growth

Hedge funds don’t have many shares in Otonomo Technologies. Deer Management Company, LLC is currently the company’s largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. Ben Volkow is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and Mithaq Capital holds about 10% of the company stock. Ben Volkow, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

Story continues

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 53% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock’s expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Otonomo Technologies

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Otonomo Technologies Ltd. Insiders own US$24m worth of shares in the US$123m 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

The general public– including retail investors — ownowns% a stake in the company, and hence can’t easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Equity Ownership

With ownership of 23%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking, they have a shorter investment horizon and — as the name suggests — don’t invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicate that Private Companies hold 10%, of the company’s shares. It’s hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, soit’ss worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example – Otonomo Technologies has 3 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email the ditorial team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.

Join A Paid User Research SessionYou’ll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better-investing tools for individual investors like yourself. Sign up here