Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited's (HKG:1177) largest shareholder, CEO Eric S. Y. Tse sees holdings value fall by 3.8% following recent drop

Key Insights

• Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Sino Biopharmaceutical's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership
• 52% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
• 17% of Sino Biopharmaceutical is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited (HKG:1177), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 49% to be precise, is individual insiders. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And last week, insiders endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 3.8%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Sino Biopharmaceutical, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Sino Biopharmaceutical

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Sino Biopharmaceutical?

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.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Sino Biopharmaceutical. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Sino Biopharmaceutical, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Sino Biopharmaceutical. The company's CEO Eric S. Y. Tse is the largest shareholder with 22% of shares outstanding. With 16% and 9.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Cheung Ling Cheng and Ping Tse are the second and third largest shareholders. Interestingly, the second and third-largest shareholders also happen to be the Senior Key Executive and Vice Chairman, respectively. This once again signifies considerable insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 5 shareholders control more than half of the company's shares which essentially means that there is concentrated ownership amongst the top shareholders, most of whom happen to be insiders!

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. 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 Sino Biopharmaceutical

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.

It seems insiders own a significant proportion of Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited. It has a market capitalization of just HK$51b, and insiders have HK$25b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. Most would be pleased to see the board is investing alongside them. You may wish to access this free chart showing recent trading by insiders.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 34% stake in Sino Biopharmaceutical. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

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.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.

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