Key Insights

• SonoScape Medical's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The top 4 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Institutions own 27% of SonoScape Medical

Every investor in SonoScape Medical Corp. (SZSE:300633) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 55% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As market cap fell to CN¥15b last week, insiders would have faced the highest losses than any other shareholder groups of the company.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about SonoScape Medical.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SonoScape Medical?

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 SonoScape Medical. 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. 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 SonoScape Medical'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 SonoScape Medical. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Zhi Qiang Chen with 22% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 22% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.6% by the third-largest shareholder.

On looking further, we found that 52% 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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of SonoScape Medical

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.

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own the majority of SonoScape Medical Corp.. This means they can collectively make decisions for the company. Insiders own CN¥8.1b worth of shares in the CN¥15b company. That's extraordinary! Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if they have been selling down their stake.

General Public Ownership

With a 17% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over SonoScape Medical. 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:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for SonoScape Medical that you should be aware of.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.