Key Insights

• LanzaTech Global's significant individual investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 55% ownership
• 18% of LanzaTech Global is held by insiders

A look at the shareholders of LanzaTech Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:LNZA) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 30% to be precise, is individual investors. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, individual investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week's 9.4% gain.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of LanzaTech Global.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About LanzaTech Global?

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.

LanzaTech Global 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. 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 LanzaTech Global's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in LanzaTech Global. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation with 17% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 15% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.7% by the third-largest shareholder. Furthermore, CEO Jennifer Holmgren is the owner of 1.6% of the company's shares.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 55% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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 LanzaTech Global

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. 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.

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in LanzaTech Global, Inc.. Insiders have a US$111m stake in this US$621m business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 30% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 24% stake in LanzaTech Global. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand LanzaTech Global better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that LanzaTech Global is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.