Yahoo Finance With 35% ownership, Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) has piqued the interest of institutional investors
Key Insights
Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Joby Aviation's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions
A total of 6 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
Every investor in Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 35% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
Since institutional have access to huge amounts of capital, their market moves tend to receive a lot of scrutiny by retail or individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Joby Aviation.
See our latest analysis for Joby Aviation
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Joby Aviation?
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.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Joby Aviation. 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. 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 Joby Aviation's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Joby Aviation. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO JoeBen Bevirt with 14% of shares outstanding. With 10% and 8.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, Toyota Motor Corporation and Paul Sciarra are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the third-largest shareholder, Paul Sciarra is also a Chairman of the Board, again, indicating strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of Joby Aviation
The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.
Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.
It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Joby Aviation, Inc.. Insiders own US$1b worth of shares in the US$4.3b company. That's quite meaningful. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
With a 21% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Joby Aviation. 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.
Private Equity Ownership
Private equity firms hold a 5.8% stake in Joby Aviation. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.
Public Company Ownership
Public companies currently own 13% of Joby Aviation stock. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Joby Aviation better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for Joby Aviation you should be aware of, and 2 of them can't be ignored.
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.
