Retail investors invested in Shenzhen Kaifa Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000021) copped the brunt of last week's CN¥765m market cap decline

Key Insights

• Significant control over Shenzhen Kaifa Technology by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The top 25 shareholders own 49% of the company
• Using data from company's past performance alongside ownership research, one can better assess the future performance of a company

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Shenzhen Kaifa Technology Co., Ltd. (SZSE:000021), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 49% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, retail investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 3.7%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Shenzhen Kaifa Technology, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Shenzhen Kaifa Technology

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Shenzhen Kaifa Technology?

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.

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Shenzhen Kaifa Technology. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is China Electronics Corporation with 35% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 5.6% and 0.8%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.

Insider Ownership Of Shenzhen Kaifa Technology

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 Shenzhen Kaifa Technology Co., Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. 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¥9.5m 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 49% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Shenzhen Kaifa Technology. 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

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 41%, of the company's shares. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the 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. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Shenzhen Kaifa Technology you should know about.

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.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

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.