Average Initial Price Return of 72% Compared to IPO Price in the First Half of This Year

First Half IPO Market with 9 Profitable Outcomes out of 10 Public Offering Investments
Record-Breaking Returns... Major Players like Seoul Guarantee Insurance and Doosan Robotics Awaiting

Recently, market funds have been pouring into the initial public offering (IPO) market. Expectations are high thanks to the solid pocket money earned through public offering investments in the first half of this year. Large-scale IPOs, which had been absent for a while due to hesitation over whether their corporate value would be properly recognized, are also preparing to make a comeback.

According to the financial investment industry and Eugene Investment & Securities, the initial price return of 31 newly listed companies that confirmed their public offering price through demand forecasting in the first half of this year reached 72.4%. The stock with the highest initial price return compared to the public offering price was Securecen, reaching 198.0%, while the stock with the lowest return was Narasella, recording minus (-) 2.5%.

Only three companies?Narasella, Tomato System, and TMC?incurred losses when selling at the initial price on the listing day after receiving the public offering shares. This means that 9 out of 10 newly listed companies formed an initial price higher than the public offering price. The probability of losses from public offering investments in the first half of this year was less than 10%, and the average investment return exceeded 70%, intensifying the competition for subscription to public offering shares. The subscription competition rate for general investors was 883 to 1, higher than the recent six-year average of 659 to 1.

Among the 31 companies that confirmed their public offering price through demand forecasting, eight companies?Securecen, Almek, Manyeogongjang, Jinyoung, Gigaverse, Geumyang Green Power, Jaram Technology, and Kkumbee?set their public offering price above the upper limit of the desired range. Adding 13 companies that set their public offering price at the upper limit, 67.7% confirmed their public offering price at or above the upper limit.

Despite the hot enthusiasm, the total public offering amount was below average. The IPO public offering amount in the first half of the year was 1.3 trillion KRW, smaller than the average first-half public offering amount of 2.2 trillion KRW from 1999 to 2022. This was the result of listings mainly of small and mid-cap stocks in the first half of this year.

Based on the subscription enthusiasm in the first half, large-scale IPOs are preparing for listing in the second half. Researcher Park Jong-sun of Eugene Investment & Securities explained, "There are about 60 companies that have filed for IPO review," adding, "More than 20 companies have received approval and are conducting demand forecasting." He further noted, "Among the large-scale companies, Seoul Guarantee Insurance, Doosan Robotics, EcoPro Materials, No Brand, and NICE Information Service are awaiting review approval."

Depending on the success of subscriptions for companies with an expected market capitalization of over 1 trillion KRW among those pursuing IPOs, additional listings by Curly, CJ Olive Young, and SmartStudy may be pursued. The investment banking industry is paying attention to the fact that the unicorn company (unlisted company valued at over 1 trillion KRW) Pado submitted a securities registration statement for listing on the KOSDAQ market on the 30th of last month. Pado's public offering price range is 26,000 to 31,000 KRW, with a market capitalization of 1.4898 trillion KRW based on the upper limit. The schedule for large-scale IPO listings in the second half may be determined depending on Pado's demand forecasting results. NH Investment & Securities is the lead underwriter for Pado, with Korea Investment & Securities as the joint underwriter. Researcher Park said, "If the approval of large-scale applicant companies proceeds smoothly, the public offering amount and market capitalization will increase significantly from September onward," and predicted, "The scale of public offerings in the second half is expected to exceed the past average level."

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