Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Optowide Technologies indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 10 shareholders own 50% of the company
• 34% of Optowide Technologies is held by insiders

Every investor in Optowide Technologies Co., Ltd. (SHSE:688195) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 40% to be precise, is individual investors. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While individual investors were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week's 17% price gain, insiders also received a 34% cut.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Optowide Technologies.

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Optowide Technologies?

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.

Optowide Technologies already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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 Optowide Technologies' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Optowide Technologies is not owned by hedge funds. With a 18% stake, CEO Hongrui Yu is the largest shareholder. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 9.2% and 7.5%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Interestingly, the second-largest shareholder, Qiping Wang is also Senior Key Executive, again, pointing towards strong insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

We also observed that the top 10 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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

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.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Optowide Technologies Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥3.5b, and insiders have CN¥1.2b worth of shares in their own names. 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 40% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

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.

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. Take risks for example - Optowide Technologies has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.