Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Global Star Acquisition implies vested interests in company growth

• 56% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders

• 28% of Global Star Acquisition is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Global Star Acquisition, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLST), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 47% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

So, insiders of Global Star Acquisition 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 Global Star Acquisition, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Global Star Acquisition

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Global Star Acquisition?

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.

We can see that Global Star Acquisition does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Global Star Acquisition's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Our data indicates that hedge funds own 6.2% of Global Star Acquisition. 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. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Anthony Ang with 43% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 6.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 6.2% by the third-largest shareholder.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 3 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Global Star Acquisition

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Global Star Acquisition, Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just US$123m, and insiders have US$57m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 16% stake in Global Star Acquisition. 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 Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 3.3%, of the company's shares. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Global Star Acquisition is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.

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