Insiders the biggest winners as SinoMab BioScience Limited's (HKG:3681) market cap rises to HK$1.6b

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over SinoMab BioScience implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 5 shareholders own 51% of the company
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

A look at the shareholders of SinoMab BioScience Limited (HKG:3681) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 32% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

As a result, insiders scored the highest last week as the company hit HK$1.6b market cap following a 11% gain in the stock.

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

See our latest analysis for SinoMab BioScience

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SinoMab BioScience?

Small companies that are not very actively traded often lack institutional investors, but it's less common to see large companies without them.

There are many reasons why a company might not have any institutions on the share registry. It may be hard for institutions to buy large amounts of shares, if liquidity (the amount of shares traded each day) is low. If the company has not needed to raise capital, institutions might lack the opportunity to build a position. Alternatively, there might be something about the company that has kept institutional investors away. 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 SinoMab BioScience, for yourself, below.

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in SinoMab BioScience. Our data shows that Hainan Haiyao Co., Ltd. is the largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. With 12% and 9.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Shui On Leung and Apricot Oversea Holdings Limited are the second and third largest shareholders. Shui On Leung, who is the second-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chief Executive Officer.

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.

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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of SinoMab BioScience

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.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in SinoMab BioScience Limited. Insiders have a HK$521m stake in this HK$1.6b business. 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-- including retail investors -- own 29% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 19%, 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.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 19% of SinoMab BioScience. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Be aware that SinoMab BioScience is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 2 of those don't sit too well with us...

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, backed by strong financial data.

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.