Key Insights

• Jiangsu Recbio Technology's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 6 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Institutional ownership in Jiangsu Recbio Technology is 20%

If you want to know who really controls Jiangsu Recbio Technology Co., Ltd. (HKG:2179), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 26% 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, retail investors collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit HK$4.4b market cap following a 15% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Jiangsu Recbio Technology.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Jiangsu Recbio Technology?

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.

We can see that Jiangsu Recbio Technology does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Jiangsu Recbio Technology, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Jiangsu Recbio Technology is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Taizhou Yuangong Technology Partnership (Limited Partnership) with 17% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 8.7% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.8% by the third-largest shareholder.

We did some more digging and found that 6 of the top shareholders account for roughly 51% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Jiangsu Recbio Technology

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

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Jiangsu Recbio Technology Co., Ltd.. In their own names, insiders own HK$142m worth of stock in the HK$4.4b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 26% 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.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 22%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Sometimes we see private equity stick around for the long term, but generally speaking they have a shorter investment horizon and -- as the name suggests -- don't invest in public companies much. After some time they may look to sell and redeploy capital elsewhere.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 11%, of the Jiangsu Recbio Technology stock. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Jiangsu Recbio Technology better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Jiangsu Recbio Technology (2 make us uncomfortable) that you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

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.