Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Mountain Lake Acquisition indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 4 shareholders own 54% of the company
• 14% of Mountain Lake Acquisition is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:MLAC), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 37% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, individual investors make up 29% of the company’s shareholders.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Mountain Lake Acquisition

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mountain Lake Acquisition?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Mountain Lake Acquisition's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

It looks like hedge funds own 12% of Mountain Lake Acquisition shares. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Mountain Lake Acquisition Sponsor LLC with 27% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 6.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Norton Family Living Trust and Magnetar Capital Partners, LP are the second and third largest shareholders. Additionally, the company's CEO Paul Grinberg directly holds 4.9% of the total shares outstanding.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Mountain Lake Acquisition

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp.. It has a market capitalization of just US$311m, and insiders have US$42m worth of shares in their own names. 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 -- own 29% 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 Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 37%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. Be aware that Mountain Lake Acquisition is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 3 of those are a bit unpleasant...

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.