Cornerstone Technologies Holdings Limited's (HKG:8391) market cap surged HK$172m last week, retail investors who have a lot riding on the company were rewarded

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by retail investors in Cornerstone Technologies Holdings indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 6 shareholders own 52% of the company
• Insiders have been buying lately

A look at the shareholders of Cornerstone Technologies Holdings Limited (HKG:8391) can tell us which group is most powerful. With 37% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Clearly, retail investors benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by HK$172m last week.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Cornerstone Technologies Holdings.

See our latest analysis for Cornerstone Technologies Holdings

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Cornerstone Technologies Holdings?

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.

Since institutions own only a small portion of Cornerstone Technologies Holdings, many may not have spent much time considering the stock. But it's clear that some have; and they liked it enough to buy in. If the business gets stronger from here, we could see a situation where more institutions are keen to buy. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Cornerstone Technologies Holdings is not owned by hedge funds. Global Fortune Global Limited is currently the largest shareholder, with 27% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 9.1% and 5.4% of the stock. Yanyan Wu, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Member of the Board of Directors. In addition, we found that Shiu Hong Yip, the CEO has 0.7% of the shares allocated to their name.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. 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 Cornerstone Technologies Holdings

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.

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 Cornerstone Technologies Holdings Limited. It has a market capitalization of just HK$815m, and insiders have HK$189m 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 37% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Cornerstone Technologies Holdings. 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

We can see that Private Companies own 36%, of the shares on issue. 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Cornerstone Technologies Holdings (of which 2 are potentially serious!) you should know about.

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.