Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 55% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd is 28%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Hangzhou Biotest Biotech Co.,Ltd. (SHSE:688767), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 35% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by CN¥404m last week.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Less than 5% of Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. If the company is growing earnings, that may indicate that it is just beginning to catch the attention of these deep-pocketed investors. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd. Our data shows that Hangzhou Tuokang Investment Co., Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 23% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 20% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 11% by the third-largest shareholder. Additionally, the company's CEO Shujiang Wu directly holds 2.1% of the total shares outstanding.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Hangzhou Biotest Biotech Co.,Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥3.1b, and insiders have CN¥862m worth of shares in their own names. 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

With a 35% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd. 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.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 35%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Hangzhou Biotest BiotechLtd that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.