While institutions invested in Zhejiang Crystal-Optech Co., Ltd (SZSE:002273) benefited from last week's 13% gain, retail investors stood to gain the most

Key Insights

• Significant control over Zhejiang Crystal-Optech by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 38% ownership
• 24% of Zhejiang Crystal-Optech is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Zhejiang Crystal-Optech Co., Ltd (SZSE:002273), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are retail investors with 54% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Following a 13% increase in the stock price last week, retail investors profited the most, but institutions who own 24% stock also stood to gain from the increase.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Zhejiang Crystal-Optech.

View our latest analysis for Zhejiang Crystal-Optech

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Zhejiang Crystal-Optech?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Zhejiang Crystal-Optech. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Zhejiang Crystal-Optech's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Zhejiang Crystal-Optech is not owned by hedge funds. Xingxing Group Co.,Ltd is currently the largest shareholder, with 8.9% of shares outstanding. With 5.3% and 2.2% of the shares outstanding respectively, Zhejiang Fuzhe Equity Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd. and Huaxia Life Insurance Co. Ltd, Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders.

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.

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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Zhejiang Crystal-Optech

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can see that insiders own shares in Zhejiang Crystal-Optech Co., Ltd. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around CN¥1.1b worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 54% stake in Zhejiang Crystal-Optech, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 5.3% stake in Zhejiang Crystal-Optech. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 12%, of the company's shares. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Zhejiang Crystal-Optech better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Zhejiang Crystal-Optech that you should be aware of.

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.