Individual investors among Young Optics Inc.'s (TWSE:3504) largest stockholders and were hit after last week's 11% price drop

Key Insights

• The considerable ownership by individual investors in Young Optics indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
• 43% of the business is held by the top 8 shareholders
• Past performance of a company along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

Every investor in Young Optics Inc. (TWSE:3504) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 57% stake, individual investors possess the maximum shares in the company. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

And last week, individual investors endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 11%.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Young Optics.

Check out our latest analysis for Young Optics

What Does The Lack Of Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Young Optics?

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 are multiple explanations for why institutions don't own a stock. The most common is that the company is too small relative to funds under management, so the institution does not bother to look closely at the company. On the other hand, it's always possible that professional investors are avoiding a company because they don't think it's the best place for their money. 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 Young Optics, for yourself, below.

Young Optics is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that Coretronic Corporation is the largest shareholder with 33% of shares outstanding. With 5.1% and 4.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, Chih-Liang Tsao and Yu-Lian Jiang 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 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. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Young Optics

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. 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.

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.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Young Optics Inc.. As individuals, the insiders collectively own NT$536m worth of the NT$5.9b 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

The general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, collectively holds 57% of Young Optics shares. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.

Public Company Ownership

Public companies currently own 33% of Young Optics stock. 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:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Young Optics better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that Young Optics is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

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.