Significant control over CuriosityStream by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
50% of the business is held by the top 9 shareholders
If you want to know who really controls CuriosityStream Inc. (NASDAQ:CURI), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Following a 18% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but insiders who own 46% stock also stood to gain from the increase.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of CuriosityStream.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CuriosityStream?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in CuriosityStream. 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. 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 CuriosityStream, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
earnings-and-revenue-growth
Hedge funds don't have many shares in CuriosityStream. Our data suggests that John Hendricks, who is also the company's Top Key Executive, holds the most number of shares at 39%. When an insider holds a sizeable amount of a company's stock, investors consider it as a positive sign because it suggests that insiders are willing to have their wealth tied up in the future of the company. Jonathan Huberman is the second largest shareholder owning 2.8% of common stock, and Clint Stinchcomb holds about 2.6% of the company stock. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Clint Stinchcomb is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.
We did some more digging and found that 9 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.
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. 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 CuriosityStream
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. 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.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of CuriosityStream Inc.. Insiders have a US$51m stake in this US$110m 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
With a 47% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over CuriosityStream. 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.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand CuriosityStream better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for CuriosityStream (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.
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.