Alpha Purchase Co., Ltd.'s (TSE:7115) biggest owners are public companies who got richer after stock soared 13% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by public companies in Alpha Purchase indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The largest shareholder of the company is ASKUL Corporation with a 62% stake
• Ownership research, combined with past performance data can help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

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Every investor in Alpha Purchase Co., Ltd. (TSE:7115) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 70% stake, public companies 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).

Clearly, public companies benefitted the most after the company's market cap rose by JP¥2.1b last week.

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

See our latest analysis for Alpha Purchase

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Alpha Purchase?

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 Alpha Purchase does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Alpha Purchase, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Alpha Purchase. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is ASKUL Corporation with 62% of shares outstanding. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 7.4% and 3.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, AS ONE Corporation and SBI Holdings Inc., Asset Management Arm are the second and third largest shareholders. In addition, we found that Masayuki Tada, the CEO has 1.2% of the shares allocated to their name.

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. 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 Alpha Purchase

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.

Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Alpha Purchase Co., Ltd.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own JP¥585m worth of the JP¥19b company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

With a 16% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Alpha Purchase. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 70% of the Alpha Purchase shares on issue. 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:

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. Take risks for example - Alpha Purchase has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

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.