[Weekly HOT Stocks] Green Cross, Strong Earnings and Momentum... Stock Price Surges 38%

From the 2nd to the 6th, Institutional Investors Net Bought 50.6 Billion KRW Worth of Green Cross Shares

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] Institutional investors showed great interest in Green Cross, which exhibited a strong stock price performance over the week.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 7th, institutional investors net purchased Green Cross shares worth 50.6 billion KRW between the 2nd and 6th. During this period, Green Cross ranked among the top 10 stocks with the highest net purchases by institutional investors across both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets.

Green Cross's stock price continued its upward trend throughout the week. The closing price, which was 300,000 KRW on the 30th of last month, rose steadily to 301,500 KRW on the 2nd, 378,000 KRW on the 3rd, 382,500 KRW on the 4th, 385,000 KRW on the 5th, and 415,000 KRW on the 6th, marking a 38.33% increase over five trading days. On the 4th, the stock price surged intraday to 418,500 KRW, setting a new 52-week high.

One of the factors driving the stock price was the third-quarter earnings. Green Cross disclosed on the 2nd that its operating profit for Q3 was 50.742 billion KRW, and sales revenue was 419.581 billion KRW. Compared to the same period last year, operating profit increased by 37.1%, and sales revenue rose by 14.5%.

Seon Minjeong, a researcher at Hana Financial Investment, explained, "The reason for achieving large-scale earnings was the increased sales of flu vaccines due to concerns about the twin-demic," adding, "Green Cross traditionally recorded losses mainly in Q4 due to vaccine disposal volumes, but this year, with increased demand for flu vaccines, disposal volumes are expected to be minimal. Additionally, with anticipated flu vaccine exports worth approximately 25 billion KRW in Q4, we expect around 50 billion KRW in profit for the quarter."

Last month, Green Cross signed a contract with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to manufacture up to 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines on a consignment basis, which also acted as a positive factor. Jin Hongguk, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, analyzed, "Among the various vaccines supported by CEPI, Green Cross manufactures those that have received sales approval, so it is not tied to specific products, resulting in high sales visibility. Furthermore, with an annual production capacity of 800 million doses, there is no disruption to existing vaccine businesses, and no additional costs for workforce expansion or capacity increase, directly benefiting profits."

Moreover, momentum is on the horizon. Green Cross plans to submit a new drug application for IVIG (immunoglobulin) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the end of this year. Researcher Jin stated, "Short-term momentum includes the submission of the IVIG BLA and the signing of the main contract for the COVID-19 vaccine, so despite the recent sharp rise in stock price, continuous attention is necessary."

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