Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai) indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 7 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership
• 24% of Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai) is held by Institutions

A look at the shareholders of Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688691) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 26% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While institutions, who own 24% shares weren't spared from last week's CN¥540m market cap drop, retail investors as a group suffered the maximum losses

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai).

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai)?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai). 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. 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 Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai), (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai). Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation with 14% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 10% of the shares outstanding respectively, Haitong New Energy Private Equity Management Co., Ltd. and NVP Associates, LLC are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Zhiqing Zhuang is the owner of 2.6% of the company's shares.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 7 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. 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 Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai)

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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥4.4b, and insiders have CN¥113m worth of shares, in their own names. Some would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. But it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 26% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai). While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With a stake of 22%, private equity firms could influence the Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai) board. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 12%, of the Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai) 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 14% of Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai). It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

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 Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai) is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.