Kakao Games Fails to Achieve 'Ttasangssang'... What About Retail Investors?

Foreigners and Institutions Move to Realize Capital Gains

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Kakao Games ended its streak of limit-up gains, failing to achieve 'Ttasantssangssang' (opening at twice the IPO price on the first day of listing followed by three consecutive limit-up days). After the listing of Kakao Games, individual investors flocked to buy shares in anticipation of Ttasantssangssang, but with the end of the limit-up streak, attention is focused on what moves individuals will make going forward. Meanwhile, foreigners and institutions have been actively realizing profits since Kakao Games' listing.

As of 10:05 a.m. on the 14th, Kakao Games recorded 86,000 won, down 0.62% (500 won) from the previous day. After three trading days since listing, the limit-up streak stopped and the stock turned downward. During the session, it even fell below 80,000 won.

Previously, SK Biopharm, which was listed earlier, succeeded in achieving Ttasantssangssang, raising expectations for Kakao Games to do the same. If Kakao Games had recorded a limit-up on this day, its stock price would have reached 100,000 won, and its market capitalization would have exceeded 7 trillion won, ranking second in KOSDAQ market cap. Due to these expectations, individual investors rushed to buy after the listing. Since Kakao Games was listed on the 10th, individuals have net purchased 188 billion won worth of Kakao Games shares, the largest net buying amount. Kakao Games recorded Ttasantssang and rose to third place in market capitalization within two days of listing, fueling expectations for further gains, and it achieved record-breaking success with a higher subscription competition rate than SK Biopharm.

Unlike individuals betting on Kakao Games' stock price increase, foreigners and institutions focused on profit-taking. Foreigners have net sold 38.4 billion won worth of Kakao Games shares since its listing, making it the second largest seller after LG Chem. Institutions also sold 70 billion won worth, ranking fourth in selling Kakao Games shares. For Kakao Games, the portion of shares subject to lock-up agreements among those allocated to institutional investors is 58.59%, lower than SK Biopharm's 81.15%. Having recorded two consecutive limit-up days after listing, it appears that more profit-taking shares have been released compared to SK Biopharm.

The future stock price movement of Kakao Games is expected to depend on how much individuals can absorb the selling pressure from foreigners and institutions for the time being. Also, once the initial overheated phase of the listing calms down, attention is expected to shift to the effects of new releases and second-half earnings, with the stock price moving according to fundamentals. Lee Jinman, a researcher at SK Securities, said, "Considering the lower actual non-lock-up allocation (27.4%) compared to the non-lock-up application ratio (41.4%) during institutional demand forecasting and the current heat in the domestic IPO market, the stock price will show high volatility in the early listing period," adding, "It is necessary to pay attention to whether the upward trend is maintained after absorbing the profit-taking volume in the early listing period."

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