Individual investors among JS Link, Inc.'s (KOSDAQ:127120) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 11% price drop

Key Insights

• Significant control over JS Link by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• 37% of the business is held by the top 8 shareholders
• Insider ownership in JS Link is 10%

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To get a sense of who is truly in control of JS Link, Inc. (KOSDAQ:127120), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual investors with 57% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

As a result, individual investors as a group endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by ₩2.7b.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of JS Link.

Check out our latest analysis for JS Link

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About JS Link?

Institutional investors often avoid companies that are too small, too illiquid or too risky for their tastes. But it's unusual to see larger companies without any institutional investors.

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. 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 JS Link, for yourself, below.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in JS Link. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Joosung Sea & Air Co. Ltd with 21% of shares outstanding. With 4.3% and 3.9% of the shares outstanding respectively, Orbitech Co., Ltd. and Mu-Jin Cheon are the second and third largest shareholders.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 8 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

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 JS Link

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. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

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 information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in JS Link, Inc.. Insiders own ₩26b worth of shares in the ₩253b company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 57% of JS Link shares. This level of ownership gives investors from the wider public some power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and the dividend payout ratio.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 19%, of the shares on issue. 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.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 3.9% of the JS Link 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for JS Link (1 doesn't sit too well with us) that you should be aware of.

Of course this may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free 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.