Key Insights

• Ocumension Therapeutics' significant private equity firms ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 57% of the business is held by the top 4 shareholders
• Insiders own 15% of Ocumension Therapeutics

If you want to know who really controls Ocumension Therapeutics (HKG:1477), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 30% to be precise, is private equity firms. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Following a 11% increase in the stock price last week, private equity firms profited the most, but institutions who own 19% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Ocumension Therapeutics?

Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.

We can see that Ocumension Therapeutics does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 Ocumension Therapeutics' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Ocumension Therapeutics. 6 Dimensions Capital Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 20% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 17% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 11% by the third-largest shareholder. Lian Yong Chen, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board. In addition, we found that Ye Liu, the CEO has 4.1% of the shares allocated to their name.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 57% of the company is controlled by the top 4 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Ocumension Therapeutics

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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 Ocumension Therapeutics. Insiders have a HK$713m stake in this HK$4.6b business. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 19% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 30%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. 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.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 17% of Ocumension Therapeutics stock. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Ocumension Therapeutics you should be aware of.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.