In spite of recent selling, insiders still control 62% of Asana, Inc. (NYSE:ASAN)
Key Insights
Significant insider control over Asana implies vested interests in company growth
The largest shareholder of the company is Dustin Moskovitz with a 52% stake
If you want to know who really controls Asana, Inc. (NYSE:ASAN), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 62% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Even though insiders have sold shares recently, the group owns the most numbers of shares in the company.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Asana.
Check out our latest analysis for Asana
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Asana?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Asana. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Asana's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Asana. With a 52% stake, CEO Dustin Moskovitz is the largest shareholder. This essentially means that they have significant control over the outcome or future of the company, which is why insider ownership is usually looked upon favourably by prospective buyers. With 9.4% and 3.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, Justin Rosenstein and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Justin Rosenstein is also Top Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.
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 Asana
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.
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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of Asana, Inc.. This gives them effective control of the company. Insiders own US$3.0b worth of shares in the US$4.8b company. That's extraordinary! It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been selling any of their shares.
General Public Ownership
The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 13% stake in Asana. 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.
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. Be aware that Asana is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...
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.
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