Key Insights

• CleanSpark's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 37% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• 44% of CleanSpark is held by Institutions

Every investor in CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 53% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 44% of the company's shareholders. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CleanSpark?

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.

CleanSpark already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 CleanSpark's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in CleanSpark. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 6.6% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.5% and 3.1% of the stock. In addition, we found that Zachary Bradford, the CEO has 1.3% of the shares allocated to their name.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of CleanSpark

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 some shares in CleanSpark, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$101m. 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

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 53% of CleanSpark shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand CleanSpark better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that CleanSpark is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 3 of those make us uncomfortable...

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.

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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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com