The stocks most heavily bought by high-return investors trading through Mirae Asset Securities on the morning of the 23rd were Doosan Enerbility (034020), Samsung Electronics (005930) and Samsung E&A (028050), in that order. SK hynix (000660) topped net selling despite news that it had halted plans to list Solidigm.
According to Mirae Asset Securities on the 23rd, Doosan Enerbility was the most heavily net-bought stock through 11 a.m. that morning among clients ranking in the top 1% for investment returns over the past month. At the same time, Doosan Enerbility traded at 58,600 won, down 4.86% from the previous session.
The buying interest amid the share-price decline is read as reflecting expectations for entry into the U.S. nuclear power market and expanded orders. With reports that the company is reviewing an acquisition of a stake in Westinghouse in connection with South Korea's investment in the United States, attention has turned to its potential participation in the construction of eight large U.S. nuclear reactors. Analysts say the company is well positioned for additional orders because it already supplies core materials for the U.S.-designed AP1000 reactor.
Yoo Jae-sun, an analyst at Hana Securities, said North American business opportunities for Team Korea are expanding through negotiations on investment in the United States, adding that if orders for core small modular reactor (SMR) equipment materialize within the year, expectations that had been subdued could grow again.
Samsung Electronics ranked second in net buying. The stock traded at 207,500 won at the same time, down 3.26% and giving up the 210,000-won level. Korean shares fell after skepticism about artificial intelligence investment surfaced on U.S. markets overnight, but high-return investors appear to have stepped in to buy Samsung Electronics on the dip.
Samsung E&A, third in net buying, rose 8.66% from the previous session on strong earnings and a large shareholder return plan. The company disclosed the previous day that preliminary third-quarter revenue came to 2.9105 trillion won and operating profit to 500.6 billion won on a consolidated basis, up 45.8% and 183.6% from a year earlier, respectively.
The company is also expanding shareholder returns. Samsung E&A will buy back about 780 billion won worth of its own shares from the 23rd of this month through Jan. 22 next year. Of that, 690 billion won worth will be cancelled, with the remaining 90 billion won worth to be used for employee compensation and other purposes.
With results beating market expectations even excluding one-off gains, and with expanding orders and shareholder returns added, brokerages are raising their outlooks. Sixteen brokerages lifted their target prices for Samsung E&A between the previous day and the 23rd. KB Securities and IBK Investment & Securities raised theirs to 81,000 won and 72,000 won respectively the previous day, followed by 14 others including NH Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities on the 23rd.
On the sell side, the most heavily net-sold stocks were SK hynix, Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150) and Korea Circuit (007810). SK hynix said in a pre-market filing that it was halting its review of a pre-IPO funding round and an initial public offering for Solidigm, its overseas subsidiary, but the announcement failed to reverse selling by high-return investors for a second day.
SK hynix shares opened lower and swung between gains and losses during the morning. Analysts said the halt to the Solidigm listing should ease concerns about damage to shareholder value from a duplicate listing, while others said the burden of future investment funding must be considered. Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said before the open that SK hynix's disclosure halting its review of a Solidigm IPO appeared likely to contribute to improving investor sentiment toward semiconductors. She also suggested the stock could recoup its losses during the session after absorbing panic selling early on.
Yang Hyun-kyung, an analyst at iM Securities, said the decision reflected acceptance of concerns about damage to shareholder value, which could ease wariness about a discount and equity dilution from a duplicate listing, but added that opportunities to raise outside capital would shrink and the burden of future investment funding could grow.
Meanwhile, the top net-bought stocks the previous day were Korea Circuit, Samsung Electronics preferred shares and Samsung E&A, while the top net-sold were SK hynix, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung Electronics.
