Institutional investors have a lot riding on Changchun UP Optotech Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002338) with 48% ownership

Key Insights

• Institutions' substantial holdings in Changchun UP OptotechLtd implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls Changchun UP Optotech Co.,Ltd. (SZSE:002338), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is institutions. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained CN¥677m in market cap last week. The gains from last week would have further boosted the one-year return to shareholders which currently stand at 80%.

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

View our latest analysis for Changchun UP OptotechLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Changchun UP OptotechLtd?

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 Changchun UP OptotechLtd 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 Changchun UP OptotechLtd's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Changchun UP OptotechLtd. Our data shows that Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Endowment Arm is the largest shareholder with 42% of shares outstanding. Guangdong Rising Holdings Group Co.,Ltd is the second largest shareholder owning 5.0% of common stock, and E Fund Management Co., Ltd. holds about 1.2% of the company stock.

Our research also brought to light the fact that roughly 50% of the company is controlled by the top 5 shareholders suggesting that these owners wield significant influence on the business.

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. While there is some analyst coverage, the company is probably not widely covered. So it could gain more attention, down the track.

Insider Ownership Of Changchun UP OptotechLtd

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of Changchun UP Optotech Co.,Ltd. in their own names. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. Keep in mind that it's a big company, and the insiders own CN¥84m worth of shares. The absolute value might be more important than the proportional share. Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 46% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Changchun UP OptotechLtd. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that Changchun UP OptotechLtd is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.

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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.