Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:2121) largest shareholders are private equity firms who were rewarded as market cap surged HK$502m last week

Key Insights

• Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group's significant private equity firms ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• 51% of the business is held by the top 3 shareholders
• Insider ownership in Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group is 19%

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group Co., Ltd. (HKG:2121), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 48% to be precise, is private equity firms. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, private equity firms collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit HK$9.4b market cap following a 5.6% gain in the stock.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group.

View our latest analysis for Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group?

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

There could be various reasons why no institutions own shares in a company. Typically, small, newly listed companies don't attract much attention from fund managers, because it would not be possible for large fund managers to build a meaningful position in the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group's earnings and revenue track record (below) may not be compelling to institutional investors -- or they simply might not have looked at the business closely.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group. Sinovation Ventures (Beijing) Enterprise Management Limited is currently the company's largest shareholder with 26% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 15% and 9.9% of the stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group

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. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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 Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group Co., Ltd.. It has a market capitalization of just HK$9.4b, and insiders have HK$1.8b worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 23% stake in Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Private Equity Ownership

With an ownership of 48%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 8.6%, of the Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group stock. 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.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Qingdao AInnovation Technology Group .

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.

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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.