Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Guobang Pharma indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 4 shareholders own 56% of the company
• Insiders own 13% of Guobang Pharma

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Guobang Pharma Ltd. (SHSE:605507), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 51% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit CN¥12b market cap following a 5.4% gain in the stock.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Guobang Pharma, beginning with the chart below.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Guobang Pharma?

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 Guobang Pharma does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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 Guobang Pharma's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Guobang Pharma. Xinchang Ande Trading Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 23% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 13% and 9.9% of the stock. Jiajun Qiu, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

On looking further, we found that 56% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of 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 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 Guobang Pharma

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Guobang Pharma Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥1.5b worth of shares in the CN¥12b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 26% stake in Guobang Pharma. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 51%, 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 Guobang Pharma is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.

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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.