Every investor in RLX Technology Inc. (NYSE:RLX) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 52% to be precise, is individual insiders. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
So it follows, every decision made by insiders of RLX Technology regarding the company's future would be crucial to them.
Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of RLX Technology, beginning with the chart below.
Check out our latest analysis for RLX Technology
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in RLX Technology. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of RLX Technology, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
Our data indicates that hedge funds own 5.2% of RLX Technology. That worth noting, since hedge funds are often quite active investors, who may try to influence management. Many want to see value creation (and a higher share price) in the short term or medium term. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Wang Ying with 25% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 12% and 7.7% of the stock. Interestingly, the second and third-largest shareholders also happen to be the Top Key Executive and Member of the Board of Directors, respectively. This once again signifies considerable insider ownership amongst the company's top shareholders.
After doing some more digging, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company's shares which essentially means that there is concentrated ownership amongst the top shareholders, most of whom happen to be insiders!
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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
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.
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 information suggests that insiders own more than half of RLX Technology Inc.. This gives them effective control of the company. Insiders own US$1.5b worth of shares in the US$3.0b company. That's extraordinary! Most would argue this is a positive, showing strong alignment with shareholders. You can click here to see if they have been selling down their stake.
With a 21% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over RLX Technology. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand RLX Technology better, we need to consider many other factors.
I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow, for free.
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.