Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in LENSAR indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 11 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Insider ownership in LENSAR is 17%

Every investor in LENSAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNSR) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 40% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched US$107m last week, while institutions who own 25% also benefitted.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of LENSAR, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for LENSAR

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About LENSAR?

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.

LENSAR 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. 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 LENSAR's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

It would appear that 18% of LENSAR shares are controlled by hedge funds. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is North Run Capital, LP with 9.5% of shares outstanding. With 8.5% and 6.6% of the shares outstanding respectively, Park West Asset Management LLC and Nicholas Curtis are the second and third largest shareholders. Nicholas Curtis, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 11 have the combined ownership of 51% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of LENSAR

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 LENSAR, Inc.. Insiders have a US$19m stake in this US$107m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 40% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over LENSAR. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand LENSAR better, we need to consider many other factors.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.