Key Insights

• Mission Produce's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• 51% of the business is held by the top 11 shareholders
• Insiders have been selling lately

A look at the shareholders of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 35% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Despite selling some shares recently, insiders control a good portion of the company's stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Mission Produce, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Mission Produce

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mission Produce?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Mission Produce already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 Mission Produce's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Mission Produce. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Bruce Taylor with 12% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 12% and 5.2%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Stephen Barnard, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 11 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% 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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of Mission Produce

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Mission Produce, Inc.. Insiders have a US$295m stake in this US$843m business. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 34% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Mission Produce. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Mission Produce better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Mission Produce is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...

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.