Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in KORU Medical Systems indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Institutional ownership in KORU Medical Systems is 28%

If you want to know who really controls KORU Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:KRMD), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 43% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While the holdings of retail investors took a hit after last week’s 11% price drop, institutions with their 28% holdings also suffered.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about KORU Medical Systems.

See our latest analysis for KORU Medical Systems

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About KORU Medical Systems?

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.

KORU Medical Systems already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 KORU Medical Systems, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 22% of KORU Medical Systems. 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. First Light Asset Management, LLC is currently the largest shareholder, with 13% of shares outstanding. With 13% and 9.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Horton Capital Management, LLC and Topline Capital Management, LLC are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Linda Tharby, the CEO has 4.0% of the shares allocated to their name.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 12 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of KORU Medical Systems

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in KORU Medical Systems, Inc.. In their own names, insiders own US$9.1m worth of stock in the US$133m company. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board, though we generally prefer to see bigger insider holdings. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 43% stake in KORU Medical Systems. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand KORU Medical Systems better, we need to consider many other factors.

Many find it useful to take an in depth look at how a company has performed in the past. You can access this detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

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.