Every investor in JW (Cayman) Therapeutics Co. Ltd (HKG:2126) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 56% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, individual investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 31%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of JW (Cayman) Therapeutics, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for JW (Cayman) Therapeutics

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About JW (Cayman) 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.

JW (Cayman) Therapeutics already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 JW (Cayman) Therapeutics' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

JW (Cayman) Therapeutics is not owned by hedge funds. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is currently the largest shareholder, with 17% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 11% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 5.1% by the third-largest shareholder. Yiping Li, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of JW (Cayman) Therapeutics

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in JW (Cayman) Therapeutics Co. Ltd. It has a market capitalization of just HK$1.8b, and insiders have HK$119m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public -- including retail investors -- own 56% of JW (Cayman) Therapeutics. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 11%, of the company's shares. 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

We can see that public companies hold 21% of the JW (Cayman) Therapeutics shares on issue. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand JW (Cayman) Therapeutics better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for JW (Cayman) 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.