Key Insights

• Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• A total of 3 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• 11% of Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech is held by Institutions

If you want to know who really controls Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech Co., Ltd (SHSE:688298), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As market cap fell to CN¥5.5b last week, private companies would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech?

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.

Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech. Anji Fulanglai Import & Export Trade Co., Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 20% of shares outstanding. Fangs Holdings LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 20% of common stock, and Anji Yongwei Investment Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership) holds about 11% of the company stock.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 3 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 51% stake.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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 most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech Co., Ltd. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥5.5b, and the board has only CN¥26m worth of shares in their own names. We generally like to see a board more invested. However it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 38% stake in Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech. 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 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. Take risks for example - Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free 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.