Intron Technology Holdings Limited's (HKG:1760) market cap surged HK$294m last week, private companies who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Intron Technology Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 2 shareholders own 55% of the company
• Insider ownership in Intron Technology Holdings is 14%

A look at the shareholders of Intron Technology Holdings Limited (HKG:1760) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 52% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, private companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by HK$294m last week.

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

View our latest analysis for Intron Technology Holdings

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Intron Technology Holdings?

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 could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Institutional investors may not find the historic growth of the business impressive, or there might be other factors at play. You can see the past revenue performance of Intron Technology Holdings, for yourself, below.

Intron Technology Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Magnate Era Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 48% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Cheung Ngai Chan and Wing Ming Luk, with an equal amount of shares to their name at 6.9%. Two of the top three shareholders happen to be Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, respectively. That is, insiders feature higher up in the heirarchy of the company's top shareholders.

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 55% stake.

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 a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Intron Technology Holdings

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Intron Technology Holdings Limited. Insiders have a HK$340m stake in this HK$2.4b 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

With a 33% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Intron Technology Holdings. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 52%, of the shares on issue. 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 Intron Technology Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Intron Technology Holdings (1 is concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.