Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Cognyte Software's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 7 shareholders own 53% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

A look at the shareholders of Cognyte Software Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGNT) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 45% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Last week’s 15% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 43%.

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

Check out our latest analysis for Cognyte Software

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cognyte Software?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

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

It looks like hedge funds own 21% of Cognyte Software 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. The company's largest shareholder is Topline Capital Management, LLC, with ownership of 13%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.7% by the third-largest shareholder. Additionally, the company's CEO Elad Sharon directly holds 0.5% of the total shares outstanding.

We also observed that the top 7 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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Cognyte Software

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.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Cognyte Software Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just US$771m, and insiders have US$30m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 22% 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 7.9% stake in Cognyte Software. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Cognyte Software better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Cognyte Software that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.