ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai) Inc.'s (HKG:1541) market cap touched HK$2.5b last week, benefiting both retail investors who own 32% as well as institutions

Key Insights

• Significant control over ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai) by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• A total of 5 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership
• Recent purchases by insiders

Our free stock report includes 1 warning sign investors should be aware of before investing in ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai). Read for free now.

To get a sense of who is truly in control of ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai) Inc. (HKG:1541), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. With 32% stake, retail investors possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Retail investors gained the most after market cap touched HK$2.5b last week, while institutions who own 21% also benefitted.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai).

Check out our latest analysis for ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai)

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai)?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai) does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. 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 ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai)'s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai). Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Wenzhi Tian with 17% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 11% and 9.4%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On looking further, we found that 51% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.

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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai)

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.

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 ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai) Inc.. It has a market capitalization of just HK$2.5b, and insiders have HK$443m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 32% stake in ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai). 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.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 17% stake in ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai). This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some might like this, because private equity are sometimes activists who hold management accountable. But other times, private equity is selling out, having taking the company public.

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. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for ImmuneOnco Biopharmaceuticals (Shanghai) that you should be aware of.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.