Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai) indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 12 shareholders own 50% of the company
• 32% of EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai) is held by insiders

To get a sense of who is truly in control of EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai) Corporation (SHSE:603496), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% 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.

Following a 6.1% decrease in the stock price last week, individual investors suffered the most losses, but insiders who own 32% stock also took a hit.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai), beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai)?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai). 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 EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai)'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 EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai). Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Zhen Yu Shen with 14% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 6.9% and 5.4% of the stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, De Yong Hu is also Senior Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 have the combined ownership of 50% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company.

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 is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

Insider Ownership Of EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai)

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. 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.

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 EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai) Corporation. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥7.2b, and insiders have CN¥2.3b 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

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 48% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand EmbedWay Technologies (Shanghai) better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com