Major Investor Unloads 500 Billion Won Worth of Shares in Ten Days... Will Naver's Uptrend Break?

[Asia Economy Reporter Koh Hyung-kwang] The sharply rising Naver stock price has recently lost momentum. This is due to a flood of profit-taking sales following a short-term surge. Over the past two weeks, foreigners and institutions have sold more than 500 billion KRW worth of shares.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 11th, as of 10:00 AM, Naver was trading at 302,000 KRW on the KOSPI market, down 1.7% from the previous trading day. Over the past six trading days, it recorded a slight gain on only one day, while showing a decline on the other five days. Compared to the closing price of 339,000 KRW on the 3rd, it has dropped 10.9%.

Major market players, institutional investors and foreigners, have been continuously selling Naver shares recently. Institutions have shown net selling for 10 consecutive trading days from the 28th of last month to the day before, with net sales amounting to 269 billion KRW during this period. Foreigners also sold shares worth 233 billion KRW over the past 10 trading days. The total volume sold by these two major players exceeds 500 billion KRW.

Since the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in March, the stock price has more than doubled in about five months, leading foreigners and institutions to take profit by selling shares. Lee Seung-hoon, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, said, "The recent correction appears to be a short-term adjustment following a rapid surge," adding, "It also seems to have been somewhat influenced by the decline in U.S. Nasdaq technology stocks."

Experts have expressed positive outlooks on the future stock price, noting that the spin-off of Naver Shopping is imminent. Kim Dong-hee, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, "It is no exaggeration to say that the fastest-growing sector within Naver Business is Shopping," and added, "From the spin-off point, it will be an opportunity to assign a valuation comparable to Coupang." He further noted, "Since Coupang was valued at about 15 trillion KRW during its overseas roadshow, we estimate the value of Naver Shopping at 14 trillion KRW."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.