Key Insights

• Sunrise Communications' significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• 13% of Sunrise Communications is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Sunrise Communications AG (NASDAQ:SNRE), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 41% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

So, insiders of Sunrise Communications have a lot at stake and every decision they make on the company’s future is important to them from a financial point of view.

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

See our latest analysis for Sunrise Communications

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sunrise Communications?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

Sunrise Communications 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 Sunrise Communications, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

It looks like hedge funds own 9.9% of Sunrise Communications shares. 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. The company's largest shareholder is John Malone, with ownership of 41%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.9% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.0% by the third-largest shareholder.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. 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 Sunrise Communications

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 maintain a significant holding in Sunrise Communications AG. It has a market capitalization of just US$4.3b, and insiders have US$1.8b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

With a 36% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Sunrise Communications. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Sunrise Communications better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Sunrise Communications .

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.