Key Insights

• Significant control over Electrovaya by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 47% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Electrovaya is 40%

If you want to know who really controls Electrovaya Inc. (TSE:ELVA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 53% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Meanwhile, individual insiders make up 40% of the company’s shareholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Electrovaya.

See our latest analysis for Electrovaya

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Electrovaya?

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.

Less than 5% of Electrovaya is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Electrovaya. Because actions speak louder than words, we consider it a good sign when insiders own a significant stake in a company. In Electrovaya's case, its Top Key Executive, Sankar Gupta, is the largest shareholder, holding 27% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Aigh Capital Management, LLC and Laurence Lytton, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 6.2%. Additionally, the company's CEO Rajshekar Gupta directly holds 0.6% of the total shares outstanding.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Electrovaya

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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 Electrovaya Inc.. Insiders have a CA$59m stake in this CA$148m business. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 53% of Electrovaya 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.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 6.2%, private equity firms could influence the Electrovaya board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Electrovaya , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.