PlaySide Studios Limited (ASX:PLY) insiders have significant skin in the game with 53% ownership

Key Insights PlaySide Studios' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion 54% of...

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Key Insights PlaySide Studios' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion 54% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business To get a sense of who is truly in control of PlaySide Studios Limited ( ), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 53% to be precise, is individual insiders. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

So it follows, every decision made by insiders of PlaySide Studios regarding the company's future would be crucial to them. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about PlaySide Studios. 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 PlaySide Studios. 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 PlaySide Studios' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in PlaySide Studios.

The company's CEO Gerry Sakkas is the largest shareholder with 16% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Mark Goulopoulos and Aaron Pasias, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 16%. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Aaron Pasias is also a Member of the Board of Directors, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 54% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business. While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

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. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company.

However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. It seems that insiders own more than half the PlaySide Studios Limited stock.

This gives them a lot of power. That means they own AU$127m worth of shares in the AU$238m company. That's quite meaningful.

Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to With a 40% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over PlaySide Studios. 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.

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted you should know about.

But ultimately , 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 ..