Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 50% of the business is held by the top 8 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals is 25%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (SHSE:688319), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 42% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While insiders who own 25% came under pressure after market cap dropped to CN¥4.5b last week,individual investors took the most losses.

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

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals?

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.

We can see that Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals 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. 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 Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals. Chongqing Wushan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is currently the largest shareholder, with 18% of shares outstanding. With 7.5% and 6.4% of the shares outstanding respectively, Fan Fan and Pengfei Zhang are the second and third largest shareholders. Pengfei Zhang, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of Corporate Board. Furthermore, CEO Shaowen Fan is the owner of 3.9% of the company's shares.

We did some more digging and found that 8 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

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. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals

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.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals Inc.. Insiders have a CN¥1.1b stake in this CN¥4.5b business. 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

With a 42% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 21%, of the Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals 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 Chengdu Olymvax Biopharmaceuticals better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

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.