A look at the shareholders of Optowide Technologies Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688195) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 39% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Following a 11% increase in the stock price last week, individual investors profited the most, but insiders who own 36% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Optowide Technologies.

Check out our latest analysis for Optowide Technologies

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Optowide Technologies?

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.

Optowide Technologies 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. 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 Optowide Technologies' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Optowide Technologies. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Hongrui Yu with 18% of shares outstanding. Qiping Wang is the second largest shareholder owning 9.2% of common stock, and Ningbo Hi-Tech Zone Guangyuan Equity Investment Management Center (L.P.) holds about 7.5% of the company stock. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Qiping Wang is also Senior Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Optowide Technologies

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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Optowide Technologies Co., Ltd.. Insiders own CN¥1.5b worth of shares in the CN¥4.2b 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

With a 39% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Optowide Technologies. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 13%, 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 Optowide Technologies better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Optowide Technologies (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.