[Reporter’s Notebook] Buy or Sell? Conflicting Opinions on the Same Stock Cause Confusion

The stock market is in utter chaos due to the investment frenzy in secondary battery stocks. Extreme volatility is evident, with tens of trillions of won in market capitalization evaporating in a single day. Amid this, domestic and foreign securities firms are intensifying confusion by issuing reports with completely opposing views, as if engaged in a battle of wills.

Reports from domestic securities firms on EcoPro, the leading secondary battery stock, have ceased following Hana Securities' "sell report." Given that the Financial Supervisory Service has conducted a written inquiry investigation, no analyst likely has the courage to release new reports. It is fully understandable, as including even slightly negative content would provoke fierce protests from individual investors. The blind faith of individual investors in secondary batteries is clearly reflected by the continuous stream of complaints to the Financial Supervisory Service requesting an investigation into the causes of the sharp decline in secondary battery stock prices.

While domestic securities firms are reluctant to issue reports related to secondary battery stocks, POSCO Holdings is an exception. It has successively raised its target price in line with the stock price increase. Korea Investment & Securities raised it to 900,000 won, followed by Samsung Securities at 800,000 won, and NH Investment & Securities at 750,000 won. They justified the target price assuming a duopoly in the core battery business.

The views of foreign securities firms are entirely different. Morgan Stanley downgraded its investment opinion on POSCO Holdings to "underweight," anticipating a stock price decline. Although the company is transforming into an eco-friendly energy firm, they analyzed that excessive expectations are reflected. They also emphasized that among global lithium-related stocks, it is the most expensive stock and that the current stock price assumes the best-case scenario. Goldman Sachs, after issuing sell opinions on EcoPro BM and POSCO Future M in June, recently issued a sell opinion on POSCO Future M again.

Suspicions have also been raised about the contrasting perspectives of domestic and foreign securities firms on the same stocks. For example, foreign firms issue sell opinions considering short-selling forces, while domestic firms issue buy opinions for institutional investors. Coincidentally, it is not easy to find funds that do not hold POSCO Holdings. Moreover, market experts judge that foreigners are behind the short-selling that recently fueled the sharp decline in secondary battery stocks.

If the market is chaotic and even reports from domestic and foreign institutions are hard to trust, it is necessary to establish a more cautious investment plan independently. One should be wary of "herd" investing that blindly follows others without clear conviction. Ultimately, it is the investor who protects their own returns. It is time to recall Warren Buffett's investment advice: "Invest only in companies whose business you understand and whose future performance you can comprehend."

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