Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies AvePoint's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Insiders own 37% of AvePoint

To get a sense of who is truly in control of AvePoint, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVPT), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 41% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 9.4% last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 120%.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AvePoint?

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.

AvePoint already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 AvePoint, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

AvePoint is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Zhijian Lu, with ownership of 9.8%. With 9.3% and 8.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Xunkai Gong and 65 Equity Partners Holdings Pte. Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders. Xunkai Gong, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Top Key Executive. Additionally, the company's CEO Tianyi Jiang directly holds 8.4% of the total shares outstanding.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 AvePoint

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.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in AvePoint, Inc.. It is very interesting to see that insiders have a meaningful US$1.3b stake in this US$3.4b business. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 13% 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 Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 8.9% stake in AvePoint. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. 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.

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 be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with AvePoint .

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.