Key Insights

• Significant control over MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China) by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 51% of the business is held by the top 10 shareholders
• 26% of MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China) is held by insiders

If you want to know who really controls MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou, China) Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688286), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. With 39% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While individual investors were the group that benefitted the most from last week's CN¥535m market cap gain, insiders too had a 26% share in those profits.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China), beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China)?

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 MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China) does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. 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 MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China)'s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China). Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Gang Li with 19% of shares outstanding. With 8.7% and 6.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Huaxin (Shanghai) Venture Capital Management Co., Ltd. and China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Ventures Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 10 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China)

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou, China) Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥3.6b, and insiders have CN¥926m worth of shares in their own names. 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 39% stake in MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China). 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

Private equity firms hold a 15% stake in MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China). This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. 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 5.0%, of the shares on issue. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for MEMSensing Microsystems (Suzhou China) that you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
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.