The stock most heavily bought by high-earning investors at Mirae Asset Securities (006800.KS) on the morning of the 18th was Samsung Electronics preferred shares (005935.KS), followed by Samsung Electro-Mechanics (009150.KS), Eo Technics (039030.KS), Korea Electric Power (015760.KS) and Naver (035420.KS).
According to Mirae Asset Securities, so-called "top stock traders" — those ranking in the top 1% for investment returns over the past month among the firm's clients — bought Samsung Electronics preferred shares most heavily as of 11 a.m. As of 11:56 a.m., the preferred shares were trading at 190,600 won, down 2.56% from the previous day.
Notably, Samsung Electronics common shares (005930.KS) topped the net-selling list at the same time. The top traders showed contrasting moves, selling the common shares while buying the preferred ones — a shift attributed to the preferred shares' relatively lower price and dividend appeal.
At the same time, Samsung Electronics common shares were trading at 270,750 won, down 1.37% from the previous day. The gap between the common and preferred shares stood at about 29.3%, far above the 18% average of the past three years. A wider gap means the preferred shares are trading at a steeper discount to the common shares. Generally, the wider the gap, the more attractive preferred shares are seen as an investment.
Samsung Electronics' consideration of a special dividend is also cited as a factor favoring the preferred shares. Because preferred shares are structured to receive slightly higher dividends per share than common shares, their relative appeal can grow further in a period of expanding payouts.
Samsung Electronics has said it plans to return 50% of its free cash flow and pay 9.8 trillion won in annual dividends under a three-year shareholder-return policy running from 2024 through this year. At its second-quarter earnings conference call this year, the company said it planned to carry out the three-year shareholder-return policy as promised, and that the board and management were actively discussing implementation measures for this year's shareholder-return policy, including a special dividend.
The second-most bought stock was Samsung Electro-Mechanics, trading at 1,491,000 won, down 4.30% from the previous day. Investor interest in Samsung Electro-Mechanics has continued since global investment bank Morgan Stanley recently switched its top pick from Samsung Electronics to Samsung Electro-Mechanics.
Morgan Stanley made the change citing the potential for strong prices in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and improving demand for Ajinomoto Build-up Film (ABF) substrates. It maintained an "Overweight" rating on Samsung Electro-Mechanics and raised its target price to 2.62 million won from 2.56 million won. The bank also projected that the company's margins and earnings per share (EPS) would exceed market consensus by an even wider margin, pointing to expanding investment in AI data centers as the reason for the improved outlook.
Eo Technics, the third-most bought stock, was trading at 425,000 won, up 4.95% from the previous day. The gain is attributed to a boost in investor sentiment after semiconductor-related stocks rallied on the U.S. market overnight.
The second-most sold stock was SK hynix (000660.KS). Although SK hynix was trading at 1,682,000 won, up 1.82% from the previous day, the top traders were seen taking profits. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance (001450.KS) and Samsung C&T (028260.KS), up 10.03% and 0.95% respectively, ranked third and fourth on the net-selling list. Samyang Foods (003230.KS), LG Innotek (011070.KS) and Robotis (108490.KS) were also among the top net-sold stocks.
Mirae Asset Securities compiles the trades of investors ranking in the top 1% for returns over the past month among its clients and discloses them on its mobile trading system (MTS) on a real-time, previous-day and five-day basis. The data is provided as simple information unrelated to the firm's views and does not guarantee individual investors' returns or performance. Theme stocks carry the risk of abnormal price swings and warrant caution.
