Key Insights

• Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, CrowdStrike Holdings' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
• The top 25 shareholders own 43% of the company
• Insiders have sold recently

A look at the shareholders of CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 69% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Last week’s 8.4% gain means that institutional investors were on the positive end of the spectrum even as the company has shown strong longer-term trends. One-year return to shareholders is currently 185% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

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

Check out our latest analysis for CrowdStrike Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About CrowdStrike Holdings?

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.

We can see that CrowdStrike Holdings does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 CrowdStrike Holdings' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in CrowdStrike Holdings. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc. with 6.8% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.1% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.2% by the third-largest shareholder. George Kurtz, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of CrowdStrike Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.. Insiders own US$2.9b worth of shares (at current prices). we sometimes take an interest in whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 27% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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:

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 2 warning signs for CrowdStrike Holdings you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.

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.