Exploring Alfi, Inc. (ALF) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at Alfi, Inc. (ALF) and asking who's buying a stock that trades for nearly nothing, and honestly, that's the right question to ask because the investor profile has completely inverted. The institutional 'smart money' has fled, with institutional ownership sitting at a stark 0.00% as of November 2025, a clear signal of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing that essentially ended the company in 2022. The price, now trading as ALFIQ on the OTC Markets, hovers around just $0.0001 per share, giving the entire entity a market capitalization of only about $1.60K. So, who is still trading a stock with trailing twelve months (TTM) revenue of only $200.68K against a net loss of -$22.78M? We need to look past the old narrative of an innovative Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising platform powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and dive into the mechanics of pure retail speculation and the final stages of a liquidation-era ticker.

Who Invests in Alfi, Inc. (ALF) and Why?

You need to know who is buying Alfi, Inc. (ALF) and what drives their decisions, but the first thing to understand is that the ticker ALF is currently for Centurion Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), not the original AI-powered advertising company, which is in liquidation. The investor profile is therefore dominated by large institutions playing merger arbitrage, not retail investors buying an operating business.

The core takeaway is that institutional investors own the vast majority of the shares, and their motivation is not the company's current operating performance-because it has none-but the potential value of the eventual business combination (de-SPAC). This is a different risk profile entirely.

Key Investor Types: The Institutional Majority

The ownership structure of Alfi, Inc. (ALF) is heavily skewed toward professional money managers. As a SPAC, the stock is essentially a cash-in-trust vehicle, which attracts large funds specializing in this niche. Institutional investors hold a total of over 30.5 million shares.

This high concentration means retail investors (individual buyers) hold a smaller, but still significant, portion of the float. The institutional ownership percentage is reported as high as 108.6% or even 164.03% in some financial reports. This seemingly impossible figure is common for SPACs, reflecting the inclusion of various share classes, warrants, and units in the calculation, but it clearly shows professional investors control the narrative.

Here's the quick math: with approximately 35.94 million shares outstanding as of November 2025, the 30.5 million shares held by institutions represent about 85% of the common stock. That's a huge concentration.

• Hedge Funds: Vivaldi Asset Management and LMR Partners LLP are key holders, focusing on merger arbitrage.
• Mutual Funds/Institutions: Picton Mahoney Asset Management and Magnetar Financial LLC are also among the top shareholders.
• Retail Investors: These investors are often betting on a high-growth target company being acquired, hoping for a pop after the de-SPAC announcement.

Investment Motivations: Arbitrage, Not Operations

The primary motivation for buying ALF is a play on the SPAC structure, not traditional business growth, since Centurion Acquisition Corp. has $0 in revenue. The company's net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was $8,903,522, but this income is almost entirely derived from interest and dividends earned on the cash held in the trust account, not from operations.

The stock price, which sits near the trust value at approximately $10.62 as of November 2025, reflects this arbitrage opportunity. Investors are essentially buying a bond-like instrument with a free call option on a high-growth technology company.

What attracts these investors, especially the large funds, is the low-risk, defined-return nature of the investment before a deal is announced. You get your money back (plus interest) if the deal fails, or you get a stake in the newly public company if it succeeds. Honestly, it's a structural play, not a fundamental one.

Investment Strategies: Short-Term Focus Dominates

The strategies employed by ALF investors are heavily influenced by the SPAC lifecycle. Long-term holding is a bet on the success of the future merged company, but most of the institutional volume is short-term trading or merger arbitrage.

Merger Arbitrage: Funds buy the stock near the redemption value (the cash-in-trust per share) and hold it until the merger is complete or the redemption deadline is reached (June 12, 2026, for Centurion Acquisition Corp.). This strategy locks in a small, low-risk return, which is why the stock price has a tight 52-week range of $10.03 to $10.70.

Short-Term Trading: Retail and some hedge funds trade on the news cycle-spikes often occur when a potential target is rumored or officially announced. These investors are looking to profit from the volatility that comes with the announcement, which can push the stock above the $10.62 trust value. This is a pure speculation play.

If you are looking for an analysis of the original operating company, you should check out Breaking Down Alfi, Inc. (ALF) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors, but be aware that the financial health of the current ALF is only as good as the $305.2 million in its trust account.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of Alfi, Inc. (ALF)

The direct takeaway here is stark: institutional investors have all but abandoned Alfi, Inc. (ALF). As of the end of the 2025 fiscal year, institutional ownership has collapsed to effectively 0.00%.

This isn't a typical market correction; it's the fallout from the company's voluntary petition for liquidation under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which it filed in October 2022. When a company files for Chapter 7, the equity-your stock-is usually rendered worthless, as creditors are paid first from the liquidated assets, and shareholders are at the bottom of the priority list. That's why you see the stock, now trading as ALFIQ on the OTC Markets, priced at a nominal $0.000001 USD as of November 2025.

Top Institutional Investors: The Great Exit

You won't find a list of top institutional holders for Alfi, Inc. in late 2025 because there are essentially none. Major institutions-like BlackRock, Vanguard, or large hedge funds-are required to file Form 13F with the SEC to disclose their holdings. When a stock is delisted from Nasdaq, as Alfi, Inc. was in October 2022, and its value is near zero due to Chapter 7, these funds have a fiduciary duty to liquidate their positions or write them down to zero.

The institutional investor profile has gone from a significant presence to a non-factor. This is not a stock for institutional investment anymore. It's a liquidation story.

Changes in Ownership: From 62% to Zero

The change in ownership is the most telling part of Alfi, Inc.'s story. Back in Q4 2023, institutional investors still held a reported 62.3% of the company's shares, totaling approximately 8,456,721 shares. This was likely a mix of investors who hadn't fully exited or had positions trapped in the immediate aftermath of the bankruptcy filing, or data based on the former ticker. The move from over 60% ownership to 0.00% by late 2025 is a clear signal of permanent capital flight.

Here's the quick math on what that means for the company's float (the shares available for public trading):

• Pre-Bankruptcy (Q4 2023): Institutional ownership was about 62.3%.
• Post-Bankruptcy (Nov 2025): Institutional ownership is 0.00%.

The institutions dumped the stock because the business ceased operations. That's a defintely clear sign.

Impact of Institutional Investors' Exit on Strategy and Price

The role of large institutional investors is usually to influence stock price through buying/selling volume and to shape corporate strategy through engagement with management. In Alfi, Inc.'s case, the impact is defined by their collective exit.

The primary impact of the institutional exodus was the stock's delisting from Nasdaq and its collapse in value. When institutional confidence evaporates, the stock price follows, as seen with the current price of $0.000001 USD. Furthermore, with the Chapter 7 filing, a court-appointed trustee takes control of the assets and liabilities, meaning the company's board and executive officers lose all authority. Any influence institutional shareholders once had on corporate governance or strategic direction is now completely eliminated.

The only remaining action is the liquidation process itself, which is managed by the court-appointed trustee, not by former shareholders. For a deeper dive into the company's background leading up to this point, you can review Alfi, Inc. (ALF): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Key Investors and Their Impact on Alfi, Inc. (ALF)

The key takeaway for Alfi, Inc. (ALF) is a dramatic shift in its investor base: institutional ownership has effectively evaporated in 2025, leaving the stock highly reliant on retail investors and insider activity. This is a critical factor you must understand, as it fundamentally changes the stock's risk profile and governance structure.

Honestly, the 'who's buying' story for Alfi, Inc. (ALF) in late 2025 is more about who is not buying anymore. As of October 2025, institutional ownership is reported at 0.00%. This is a massive change from earlier periods, like Q4 2023, when institutional investors held approximately 62.3% of the company's shares, totaling over 8.4 million shares. The near-complete exit of major funds is the single most important data point here.

The Near-Zero Institutional Stake: Investor Influence Shift

When major institutional investors-like the mutual funds and hedge funds that once held over half the stock-pull out, their influence on corporate decisions drops to zero. This lack of institutional oversight means a few things for you as an investor:

• Lower Governance Pressure: Management faces less pressure from large, sophisticated shareholders to maintain a 'robust framework' of financial controls.
• Higher Volatility: The stock is now dominated by retail investors, who often trade on sentiment and momentum, leading to higher price fluctuations.
• Focus on Insider Activity: Insider moves become disproportionately important indicators of company health.

The market capitalization of Alfi, Inc. (ALF) as of November 14, 2025, sits at $381.656 million, which is a small cap susceptible to these large swings. Here's the quick math: a stock with no institutional anchor is defintely a riskier proposition.

Recent Moves by Insiders and Major Holders

Since the institutional investor profile is currently negligible, we must focus on insider trading to gauge recent sentiment. Insider activity over the past year has been mixed, but the selling volume is notable. Insiders have collectively bought or received shares worth $1.77 million but sold shares totaling $5.40 million over the same period.

The most significant recent move was a sale of approximately $2.70 million worth of shares by Centurion Sponsor Lp, the entity associated with the company's former SPAC structure, which occurred about 159 days ago (around June 2025). This sale, representing over half of the total insider selling, signals a major divestment by a historically significant holder.

The stock price itself has been relatively flat in the near-term, closing at $10.62 on November 14, 2025, with a narrow 52-week range. The low volume and tight trading range, combined with a 'Neutral' insider sentiment, suggest a wait-and-see approach is dominant right now. You can read more about the company's background and structure here: Alfi, Inc. (ALF): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

To put the insider activity in perspective, look at the recent balance of transactions:

What this estimate hides is the context of past issues, including the 2022 Nasdaq delisting notice Alfi, Inc. received due to a stockholders' equity deficit of $(547,710), below the required $2.5 million minimum. This history of financial and governance challenges likely contributed to the institutional exodus, and it's a risk you should factor into any investment thesis.

Next Step: Review the company's Q3 2025 financial statements to see if the recent insider selling aligns with any deterioration in cash flow or revenue growth.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

The investor profile for Alfi, Inc. (ALF) in late 2025 is not what it seems. The ticker now represents Centurion Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), and this reality dictates the current investor sentiment and market action. The sentiment of major shareholders is overwhelmingly Neutral to Positive but for a specific, low-risk reason: the stock is trading near its cash-in-trust value, offering a strong downside floor, which is the core attraction for the institutional players currently holding the majority of shares.

As of November 2025, the general technical sentiment is Neutral, with the Fear & Greed Index hovering at 39 (Fear), indicating broader market anxiety, but this doesn't fully capture the SPAC dynamic. Insider sentiment is also Neutral, reflecting mixed activity over the last year, with insiders selling approximately $5.40M worth of shares against buying $1.77M worth. This suggests no strong internal consensus or conviction signal from management's recent trading patterns. Honestly, for a SPAC, the real signal is the institutional money.

Who's Buying and Why: The Arbitrage Investor Profile

The investor base is dominated by merger arbitrage (M&A arbitrage) funds, not long-term believers in the original Alfi, Inc.'s digital out-of-home (DOOH) technology. These funds are buying the stock because its price is anchored to the cash held in the trust account, creating a near-riskless return profile. This is why the institutional ownership figure is unusually high, exceeding the total number of publicly available shares.

As of the latest filings, institutional ownership stands at approximately 106.26% of the float (excluding 13D/G filings) and these institutions hold a total of 30,550,669 shares. This figure is possible because SPAC shares and warrants are often separated and traded, creating an over-reporting of the total percentage of shares outstanding.

The largest shareholders are classic arbitrage players:

• Vivaldi Asset Management, LLC
• LMR Partners LLP
• Picton Mahoney Asset Management
• Magnetar Financial LLC
• D. E. Shaw & Co., Inc.

Their motivation is simple: capture the small, consistent yield from the trust account's interest earnings while waiting for the SPAC to complete a merger (a De-SPAC transaction). This strategy is a bet on the floor price, not on the future performance of any eventual merger target.

Recent Market Reactions and Price Stability

The stock market's response to ownership changes and overall activity is one of extreme stability, which is the desired outcome for arbitrageurs. The price of Centurion Acquisition Corp. (ALF) has been tightly range-bound, reflecting its nature as a cash-backed security.

Here's the quick math: the redemption value per Class A share, based on the September 30, 2025, quarterly report, was $10.62 from the trust account balance of $305,202,718. The market price as of November 14, 2025, was also $10.62. This near-perfect alignment is the market's reaction to the high institutional ownership-they are holding the price right at the net asset value (NAV) floor.

The stock's 52-week range is incredibly narrow, trading between a low of $10.03 and a high of $10.70. This low volatility shows the market is defintely treating ALF as a cash-equivalent instrument, not a growth stock. Any large move outside this range would signal either a high-premium merger announcement or a significant redemption event.

Analyst Perspectives on Investor Impact

Analyst perspectives on Centurion Acquisition Corp. (ALF) are split, reflecting the uncertainty of its blank-check status. While many firms do not cover SPACs for fundamental growth projections, we did see an August 2025 initiation from Goldman Sachs with a Hold rating and a price target of $19. This target implies a significant potential upside of nearly 80% if a successful business combination is announced, but it's a bet on the future merger, not the current business.

What this estimate hides is the risk of a no-deal scenario. Analysts understand that the presence of arbitrage funds like Magnetar and D. E. Shaw provides a critical buffer. Their sheer volume of holdings ensures the stock will not trade far below the trust value, as they would simply redeem their shares for the cash-in-trust amount, which is currently $10.62 per share. This institutional floor is the most important factor in the stock's stability and is the primary reason for a 'Hold' recommendation-you are protected on the downside, but the upside is capped until a deal is announced. You can learn more about the company's history and structure here: Alfi, Inc. (ALF): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.