Retail investors are Wuhan Golden Laser Co., Ltd's (SZSE:300220) biggest owners and were hit after market cap dropped CN¥275m

Key Insights

• Wuhan Golden Laser's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• The top 9 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insider ownership in Wuhan Golden Laser is 36%

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Every investor in Wuhan Golden Laser Co., Ltd (SZSE:300220) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 50% to be precise, is retail investors. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

While the holdings of retail investors took a hit after last week’s 11% price drop, insiders with their 36% also suffered.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Wuhan Golden Laser.

See our latest analysis for Wuhan Golden Laser

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Wuhan Golden Laser?

We don't tend to see institutional investors holding stock of companies that are very risky, thinly traded, or very small. Though we do sometimes see large companies without institutions on the register, it's not particularly common.

There are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. Wuhan Golden Laser might not have the sort of past performance institutions are looking for, or perhaps they simply have not studied the business closely.

Wuhan Golden Laser is not owned by hedge funds. Wei Liang is currently the largest shareholder, with 36% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 5.2% and 1.8% of the stock.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 9 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

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 Wuhan Golden Laser

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Wuhan Golden Laser Co., Ltd. It has a market capitalization of just CN¥2.3b, and insiders have CN¥841m 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

With a 50% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Wuhan Golden Laser. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 14%, of the Wuhan Golden Laser stock. 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. Take risks for example - Wuhan Golden Laser has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free 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.