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Yahoo Finance Plus Could The Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) Ownership Structure Tell Us Something Useful?
The big shareholder groups in Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) have power over the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. I generally like to see some degree of insider ownership, even if only a little. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb said, 'Don’t tell me what you think, tell me what you have in your portfolio.
Rocket Lab USA is a pretty big company. It has a market capitalization of US$5.4b. Normally institutions would own a significant portion of a company this size. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutions own shares in the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about Rocket Lab USA.
See our latest analysis for Rocket Lab USA
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Rocket Lab USA?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
We can see that Rocket Lab USA does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Rocket Lab USA, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Rocket Lab USA is not owned by hedge funds. Khosla Ventures, LLC is currently the company's largest shareholder with 26% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 18% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 12% by the third-largest shareholder. Peter Beck, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.
A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 56% stake.
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 Rocket Lab USA
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.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Rocket Lab USA, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$5.4b, and insiders have US$671m worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
The general public-- including retail investors -- own 16% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 44% stake in Rocket Lab USA. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Rocket Lab USA better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Rocket Lab USA .
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.
