Key Insights

• Mabpharm's significant insider ownership suggests inherent interests in company's expansion
• The top 2 shareholders own 68% of the company
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

Every investor in Mabpharm Limited (HKG:2181) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 50% to be precise, is individual insiders. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders were the biggest beneficiaries of last week's 31% gain.

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

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mabpharm?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. It is also possible that fund managers don't own the stock because they aren't convinced it will perform well. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Mabpharm, for yourself, below.

Mabpharm is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Jianjun Guo is the largest shareholder with 50% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 18% and 5.2% of the stock.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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 Mabpharm

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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Mabpharm Limited. Insiders own HK$824m worth of shares in the HK$1.6b company. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. 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 23% stake in Mabpharm. 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 23%, private equity firms could influence the Mabpharm board. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 4.0%, of the shares on issue. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Mabpharm better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Mabpharm , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.