High-performing investors trading through Mirae Asset Securities bought the most shares of Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung SDI on the morning of the 16th, in that order.
According to Mirae Asset Securities, the stock that so-called "elite traders" — clients ranking in the top 1% by investment returns over the past month — purchased most heavily through 11 a.m. was Samsung Electronics.
Samsung Electronics was trading at 215,750 won, up 2.74% from the previous session, as of 11:23 a.m., according to the Korea Exchange. The stock closed at 210,000 won on the previous day, down 9.48%, as the KOSPI fell 7.57% in a session dubbed "Black Thursday." The top-performing investors appear to have viewed the decline of more than 9% as excessive and stepped in to buy on the dip.
Behind the sharp drop in Samsung Electronics shares were concerns that growth in artificial intelligence investment could stall. In a report, KB Securities described the recent selloff as an excessive correction. "The recent sharp declines in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix shares appear to be an excessive correction driven by a supply-demand vacuum in the Korean stock market and weakened investor sentiment, rather than any deterioration in fundamentals," the report said. "Earnings outlooks for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are in fact being revised upward."
Earnings forecasts for Samsung Electronics have recently been raised. Taiwan's TSMC, which reported third-quarter results the previous day, said it saw no signs of slowing demand for AI chips, while Dutch chip equipment maker ASML noted in its recent earnings announcement that customers' medium- to long-term demand outlooks were improving. Market research firm TrendForce projected that DRAM prices would post a double-digit increase in the fourth quarter of this year. Taking these factors into account, analysts concluded that the recent plunge in Samsung Electronics shares reflected an excessive pricing-in of risk aversion.
Samsung Electronics is expected to accelerate earnings growth by expanding its share of the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market and stabilizing foundry yields. In a recent report, KB Securities forecast that Samsung Electronics' HBM market share would approach 40% in the fourth quarter, up about 7 percentage points from 33% in the second quarter. As the company expands HBM4 mass production and supplies HBM4E samples to major customers, analysts said strategic growth opportunities in the HBM business have widened, with options including a strategic partnership with TSMC.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics, which ranked second, was changing hands at 1,191,000 won, up 2.41%. The stock has given back some of this year's steep gains in the second half as market volatility increased sharply, but its core multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) business remains on track. MLCCs are high-value components used in AI data centers, and prices are surging amid a continued supply shortage. The consensus estimate for Samsung Electro-Mechanics' third-quarter operating profit is 600 billion won, according to financial data provider FnGuide, but KB Securities recently projected 660.1 billion won and iM Securities 650 billion won.
Samsung SDI, which ranked third, was trading at 538,000 won, down 0.37%, showing slight weakness. While slowing growth in electric vehicle demand — a lull known as the chasm — persists, demand for energy storage systems (ESS) continues to rise. Daol Investment & Securities projected that annual ESS installations in the U.S. would grow from 51 gigawatt-hours this year to 70 gigawatt-hours next year, and expand to more than 110 gigawatt-hours by 2030. Analysts said that because AI data centers require a stable supply of vast amounts of electricity, demand for ESS installations could increase alongside power grid reinforcement.
The most heavily sold stocks that day were SK hynix, Samsung Electronics preferred shares and LG Innotek, in that order. In the previous session, net buying was heaviest in Samsung Electronics preferred shares, Samsung SDI and LG Innotek. The top net-sold stocks the previous day were Samsung Electronics, TSE and Doosan.
Mirae Asset Securities compiles the trades of investors ranking in the top 1% by returns over the past month among its clients and discloses them on its mobile trading system (MTS) on a real-time, previous-day and five-day basis. The statistical data is simple informational guidance unrelated to the views of Mirae Asset Securities and does not guarantee investments or returns suited to any individual investor. Investors should also note that theme stocks carry the risk of abnormal price swings.
