Private companies in Apex Healthcare Berhad (KLSE:AHEALTH) are its biggest bettors, and their bets paid off as stock gained 10% last week

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by private companies in Apex Healthcare Berhad indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• The top 2 shareholders own 69% of the company
• Ownership research along with analyst forecasts data help provide a good understanding of opportunities in a stock

A look at the shareholders of Apex Healthcare Berhad (KLSE:AHEALTH) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are private companies with 43% 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, private companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit RM2.4b market cap following a 10% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Apex Healthcare Berhad.

Check out our latest analysis for Apex Healthcare Berhad

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Apex Healthcare Berhad?

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.

Less than 5% of Apex Healthcare Berhad is held by institutional investors. This suggests that some funds have the company in their sights, but many have not yet bought shares in it. So if the company itself can improve over time, we may well see more institutional buyers in the future. It is not uncommon to see a big share price rise if multiple institutional investors are trying to buy into a stock at the same time. So check out the historic earnings trajectory, below, but keep in mind it's the future that counts most.

Apex Healthcare Berhad is not owned by hedge funds. Apex Pharmacy Holdings Sdn Bhd is currently the largest shareholder, with 40% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 30% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 2.6% by the third-largest shareholder. In addition, we found that Kirk Kee, the CEO has 1.2% of the shares allocated to their name.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 69% stake.

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 Apex Healthcare Berhad

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.

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.

We can see that insiders own shares in Apex Healthcare Berhad. As individuals, the insiders collectively own RM195m worth of the RM2.4b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 15% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 43%, of the Apex Healthcare Berhad stock. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 30% of Apex Healthcare Berhad. 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:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Apex Healthcare Berhad has 3 warning signs (and 2 which are a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its 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.