The stocks most heavily bought by high-return investors trading through Mirae Asset Securities (006800.KS) on the morning of the 20th were Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), Isu Specialty Chemical (457190.KQ) and Sanil Electric (062040.KQ), in that order. They were heavy net sellers of Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS), Samsung Electronics preferred shares (005935.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS).
According to Mirae Asset Securities, Samsung Electronics was the most-bought stock through 11 a.m. among "stock market elites" — the top 1% of the brokerage's equity trading clients by investment return over the past month.
Samsung Electronics was trading at 213,500 won as of 11 a.m., down 2.06% from the previous session. Artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks rose overnight on the New York market, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rebounded for the first time in nine sessions, but investor sentiment on the domestic market has yet to recover. Samsung Electronics, the country's largest stock by market capitalization, has been unable to escape the weakness.
Brokerages remain upbeat on Samsung Electronics. KB Securities on the same day estimated the company's operating profit at 367 trillion won ($257 billion) this year, up 742% from a year earlier, and at 555 trillion won ($389 billion) next year, a 51% increase from this year. Kim Dong-won, head of KB Securities' research center, said that while share price volatility could widen in the short term depending on macroeconomic variables, there is limited risk of damage to the direction of next year's profit growth, which is based on volumes secured through long-term supply contracts and rising memory prices.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics topped the net selling list. It was trading at 1.179 million won at the same time, up 0.77% from the previous close. The stock fell early in the session before turning higher.
IBK Investment & Securities maintained a buy rating and a target price of 1.75 million won on Samsung Electro-Mechanics, saying the share price is not keeping pace with the speed of its earnings improvement. Kim Woon-ho, an analyst at IBK Investment & Securities, said the effect of price increases is expected to stand out more because of tight supply, and that operating margins are projected to keep improving at both the package and component divisions.
SK hynix ranked third on the net selling list, behind Samsung Electronics preferred shares. SK hynix was at 1.226 million won, down 3.99% from the previous session. The stock plunged more than 7% during the session at one point, breaking below the 1.2 million won level. Market participants say the recent controversy over the dual listing of SK hynix subsidiary Solidigm is adding to volatility. Concerns that existing shareholders' stakes could be diluted in the process of raising capital through a subsidiary listing are weighing on the parent stock in the short term.
The top net buys by these investors in the previous session were TSE (131290.KQ), Hanwha Systems (272210.KS) and STI (039440.KQ), in that order. The top net sells were SK hynix, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung Electronics.
Mirae Asset Securities compiles the trades of the top 1% of its clients by return over the past month and discloses them on its mobile trading system on a real-time, previous-day and five-day basis. The data is simple information unrelated to the brokerage's own views and does not guarantee investments or returns suited to any individual investor. Investors should also be aware that theme stocks carry the risk of abnormal spikes and plunges.
