Individual investors own 23% of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (KRX:326030) shares but public companies control 64% of the company

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by public companies in SK Biopharmaceuticals indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• SK Inc. owns 64% of the company
• 13% of SK Biopharmaceuticals is held by Institutions

To get a sense of who is truly in control of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (KRX:326030), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 64% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 23% of the company's stockholders.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of SK Biopharmaceuticals.

View our latest analysis for SK Biopharmaceuticals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SK Biopharmaceuticals?

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.

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

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in SK Biopharmaceuticals. The company's largest shareholder is SK Inc., with ownership of 64%. With such a huge stake in the ownership, we infer that they have significant control of the future of the company. With 5.3% and 1.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, National Pension Service and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of SK Biopharmaceuticals

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.

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 data suggests that insiders own under 1% of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. in their own names. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own ₩1.5b worth of shares. It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 23% stake in SK Biopharmaceuticals. 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 64% of the SK Biopharmaceuticals shares on issue. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

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. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for SK Biopharmaceuticals that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.