SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:326030) largest shareholders are public companies who were rewarded as market cap surged ₩352b last week

Key Insights

• Significant control over SK Biopharmaceuticals by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
• The largest shareholder of the company is SK Inc. with a 64% stake
• Institutional ownership in SK Biopharmaceuticals is 12%

A look at the shareholders of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (KRX:326030) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that public companies own the lion's share in the company with 64% ownership. 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, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit ₩8.2t market cap following a 4.5% gain in the stock.

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

See our latest analysis for SK Biopharmaceuticals

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SK Biopharmaceuticals?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

SK Biopharmaceuticals already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at SK Biopharmaceuticals' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in SK Biopharmaceuticals. SK Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 64% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 5.3% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 1.8% by the third-largest shareholder.

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. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of SK Biopharmaceuticals

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.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around ₩1.5b worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 24% stake in SK Biopharmaceuticals. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 64% of SK Biopharmaceuticals. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand SK Biopharmaceuticals better, we need to consider many other factors.

I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can find historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

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.