The recent pullback must have dismayed Advanced Enzyme Technologies Limited (NSE:ADVENZYMES) insiders who own 46% of the company

Key Insights

• Significant insider control over Advanced Enzyme Technologies implies vested interests in company growth
• The top 2 shareholders own 51% of the company
• 11% of Advanced Enzyme Technologies is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of Advanced Enzyme Technologies Limited (NSE:ADVENZYMES), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 46% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, insiders endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 10%.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Advanced Enzyme Technologies, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Advanced Enzyme Technologies

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Advanced Enzyme Technologies?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Advanced Enzyme Technologies already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. 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 Advanced Enzyme Technologies' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Advanced Enzyme Technologies. Vasant Rathi is currently the largest shareholder, with 39% of shares outstanding. OrbiMed Advisors LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 12% of common stock, and Nalanda Capital Pte Ltd holds about 8.5% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Mukund Kabra is the owner of 1.6% of the company's shares.

To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 2 shareholders have a majority ownership in the company, meaning that they are powerful enough to influence the decisions of the company.

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. We're not picking up on any analyst coverage of the stock at the moment, so the company is unlikely to be widely held.

Insider Ownership Of Advanced Enzyme Technologies

While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. 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.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Advanced Enzyme Technologies Limited. Insiders own ₹13b worth of shares in the ₹29b company. 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 15% stake in Advanced Enzyme Technologies. 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

With an ownership of 21%, private equity firms are in a position to play a role in shaping corporate strategy with a focus on value creation. 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.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 6.7%, of the company's shares. 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. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Advanced Enzyme Technologies you should be aware of.

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.