Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory Co., Ltd's (SZSE:301060) largest shareholders are private companies who were rewarded as market cap surged CN¥714m last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• A total of 2 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Insider ownership in Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory is 15%

A look at the shareholders of Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory Co., Ltd (SZSE:301060) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 46% 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, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit CN¥4.3b market cap following a 20% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory.

See our latest analysis for Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory?

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.

Institutions have a very small stake in Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory. 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. We sometimes see a rising share price when a few big institutions want to buy a certain stock at the same time. The history of earnings and revenue, which you can see below, could be helpful in considering if more institutional investors will want the stock. Of course, there are plenty of other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory. The company's largest shareholder is Shanghai Lanwei Investment Co., Ltd., with ownership of 37%. With 13% and 3.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Weixiong Zeng and Heilan Group Co., Ltd. are the second and third largest shareholders. Weixiong Zeng, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 51% stake.

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 Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory

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.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory Co., Ltd. Insiders have a CN¥639m stake in this CN¥4.3b 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 38% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 46%, of the Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory stock. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Shanghai Labway Clinical Laboratory (including 1 which can't be ignored) .

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.