Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology Service Co.,Ltd's (SZSE:300022) market cap surged CN¥393m last week, retail investors who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• Significant control over Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 20 shareholders own 42% of the company
• Insiders own 15% of Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd

Every investor in Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology Service Co.,Ltd (SZSE:300022) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 58% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, retail investors were the biggest beneficiaries of last week’s 21% gain.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd. That indicates that the company is on the radar of some funds, but it isn't particularly popular with professional investors at the moment. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. When multiple institutional investors want to buy shares, we often see a rising share price. The past revenue trajectory (shown below) can be an indication of future growth, but there are no guarantees.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Sichuan Mayflower Development Service Co., Ltd. with 23% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.5% and 6.6%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Hongyan Wang, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Vice Chairman.

A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 20 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.

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. 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 Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd

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.

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 Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology Service Co.,Ltd. Insiders have a CN¥347m stake in this CN¥2.2b business. 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 58% of Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 24%, 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:

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. Take risks for example - Gifore Agricultural Science & Technology ServiceLtd has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. Therefore, you may wish to see our free collection of interesting prospects boasting favorable financials.

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.