With 53% ownership, Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co. (NASDAQ:KVSA) boasts of strong institutional backing
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Khosla Ventures Acquisition's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock
If you want to know who really controls Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co. (NASDAQ:KVSA), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 53% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Khosla Ventures Acquisition.
See our latest analysis for Khosla Ventures Acquisition
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Khosla Ventures Acquisition?
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.
We can see that Khosla Ventures Acquisition does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Khosla Ventures Acquisition's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. It would appear that 18% of Khosla Ventures Acquisition shares are controlled by hedge funds. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. Khosla Ventures SPAC Sponsor LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 14% of shares outstanding. With 6.4% and 6.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Aristeia Capital, LLC and Citadel Advisors LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.
We also observed that the top 9 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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
Insider Ownership Of Khosla Ventures Acquisition
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.
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 less than 1% of Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co.. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. It appears that the board holds about US$2.1m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of US$427m. Many investors in smaller companies prefer to see the board more heavily invested. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 15% stake in Khosla Ventures Acquisition. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Private Company Ownership
It seems that Private Companies own 14%, of the Khosla Ventures Acquisition stock. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
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 5 warning signs with Khosla Ventures Acquisition (at least 2 which are potentially serious) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.
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.
