Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Celltrion shares fall, putting extra pressure on big retail investors
Celltrion's headquarters in Incheon / Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
By Lee Min-hyung
Celltrion's big retail investors are stuck in a dilemma over the steep fall in the firm's stock price.
Shares of the biopharmaceutical company plunged early last month, but have failed to recover to previous levels even after the firm received approval for the use of its COVID-19 treatment, Leckirona, by the European Union.
The stock price of Celltrion has in recent weeks remained sluggish after experiencing a sharp drop to the 200,000 won range at the start of October. Despite the approval, Celltrion shares show few signs of bouncing back, which is burdening its retail investors.
The dwindling stock performance is particularly hitting big individual investors who are seeking to evade their position as major shareholders as the year-end approaches, amid fears over stock transfer taxes. Those who obtain stock worth over 1 billion won will be subject to pay stock transfer tax if they sell their shares after April of next year.
Growing fears of such extra taxes will push more retail investors to engage in a selling spree of local shares until the end of the year.
Celltrion shares fell by more than 35 percent as of Friday, compared with their high late last year. Shares are traded at around 220,000 won on the main bourse, a drop of around 45 percent from its record high set in December 2020.
The future course will be determined by Celltrion's earnings results in the fourth quarter, analysts said.
“Celltrion is expected to achieve better earnings in the fourth quarter on sales growth, and our outlook is that its earnings have bottomed out in the third quarter and will recover in the fourth,” Hanyang Securities analyst Oh Byung-soo said.