Newly Listed Stocks: 6 Out of 10 Fall Below IPO Price

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] Among the ten companies that went public (IPO) since last month, six currently have stock prices lower than their offering prices.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 11th, the average return compared to the offering price for 10 stocks listed on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ since September, excluding SPACs, was 19.68% as of the 8th.

The highest yielding stock was Kakao Games. The return compared to the offering price for Kakao Games, which was listed on the 10th of last month, reached 120.83%.

After listing, Kakao Games’ opening price was set at twice the offering price, and it hit the daily upper limit for two consecutive days. The stock price soared to 89,100 KRW, about 3.7 times the offering price of 24,000 KRW. Although the price then sharply dropped to the 50,000 KRW range, it still remains above twice the offering price.

Other companies showing high returns compared to the offering price include eco-friendly energy materials and components company Vinatek (69.39%), medical device company Eoflow (58.68%), and skin clinical trial company P&K Skin Clinical Research Center (30.60%).

On the other hand, six out of the ten stocks that entered the market in the past month showed negative returns compared to their offering prices.

For example, BBC, a fine toothbrush bristle manufacturer listed on September 21, had a stock price of 21,350 KRW on the 8th, which is 30.46% lower than its offering price of 30,700 KRW. Cancer immunotherapy company Bexel Bio (-18.33%), cleanroom equipment company Wonbang Tech (-12.15%), OLED mask company PIMS (-11.32%), new drug and diagnostic product company Aptamer Science (-5.40%), semiconductor equipment company Nextin (-5.04%) also had stock prices lower than their offering prices.

The securities industry expects that although returns vary by stock, the IPO market will remain active for the time being. Lee Sojung, a researcher at SK Securities, said, "Several companies are expected to start the offering process by the end of the year," adding, "The number of newly listed companies and subscription competition rates will remain high, and liquidity will continue to flow into the offering market."

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