AIM Vaccine Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:6660) stock price dropped 3.1% last week; private companies would not be happy

Key Insights

• AIM Vaccine's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 53% of the business is held by the top 6 shareholders
• 28% of AIM Vaccine is held by insiders

A look at the shareholders of AIM Vaccine Co., Ltd. (HKG:6660) can tell us which group is most powerful. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 39% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, private companies endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 3.1%.

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

Check out our latest analysis for AIM Vaccine

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About AIM Vaccine?

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.

We can see that AIM Vaccine does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see AIM Vaccine's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in AIM Vaccine. With a 17% stake, CEO Yan Zhou is the largest shareholder. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 17% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.3% by the third-largest shareholder.

We also observed that the top 6 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

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 AIM Vaccine

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. 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.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of AIM Vaccine Co., Ltd.. Insiders own HK$14b worth of shares in the HK$51b company. That's quite meaningful. 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 28% stake in AIM Vaccine. 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

It seems that Private Companies own 39%, of the AIM Vaccine stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for AIM Vaccine you should know about.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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.

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

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.