Mirae Asset Securities' Korean Stock Picks (August 2023)
Korean IPOs + stocks KOGAS, Jin Air, SK Biopharmaceuticals, Cosmax, Hanon Systems, InBody, Krafton, SKC, Dentium, Vatech, JejuAir Co, Kiwoom Securities, SK Telecom, Hyundai AutoEver, LG Display, etc.
Mirae Asset Securities (KRX: 006800 / 520003 / 00680K) is the largest investment banking and stock brokerage company by market capitalization in South Korea. They come out with (and post on their website) a steady stream of free research pieces - namely about Korean stock picks.
Stocks covered by their research during the month of August and (in the order they covered them from the most recent to the earliest in the month) in this post include:
NAVER; Korea Gas Corporation; Seegene; Jin Air Co Ltd; Pan Ocean; Ray Co Ltd; Kolmar Korea; HMM; Classys; Wemade; SK Biopharmaceuticals; Cosmax Inc; PearlAbyss Corp; Neowiz; Hanon Systems; InBody; Krafton; SKC; NCSoft Corp; Dentium; Vatech; JejuAir Co Ltd; Kiwoom Securities; SOCAR; SK Telecom; LG Uplus; Netmarble Corp; Lotte Chemical; Samsung Securities; CJ Logistics; KT Corp; Korea Investment Holdings; Kumho Petrochemical; Nexon Games; Korean Air; Vieworks; Kakao; Kakao Games; Yuhan Corp; KakaoBank; Koh Young Technology; Hyundai AutoEver; & LG Display
Our Monday posts have noted some upcoming Korean IPOs with a total of nine companies planning to initiate a book building for IPOs on the Kospi and Kosdaq in September and particularly during the third week which is ahead of the Chuseok harvest festival (See: Flurry of IPO activity defies lethargic Korean economy / Bioventures defy slowdown, launch IPOs in Korea in second half).
Many of these upcoming Korean IPOs are considered to be in growth industries such as robotics, EV batteries, biotech, and the platform business space, including:
Millie Seojae is Korea's leading e-book service platform (Millie Seojae/Prospectus/2023.09.12).
IMT provides “Dry Cleaning” and “EUV Mask” solutions by using Laser and CO2 Jet. (IMT/Prospectus/2023.09.12).
SLS BIO develops of innovative diagnostic technology.
RevuCorporation is a global influencer marketing platform.
Hanssak is a security and IT solution company.
Doosan Robotics specializes in designing and manufacturing advanced industrial robots for production process automation.
You can search the following site for Korean IPO prospectuses and corporate filings albeit you will likely need to use a browser translator to read them:
As for Mirae Asset Securities’ Korean stock pick research, its published in English. Note that when I click on their website, I receive NO pop-up asking what sort of investor I am or my location; but there is this disclaimer at the end of each of the research report PDF files:
This post will NOT be quoting directly from the website or research documents themselves beyond giving the title of the report (please keep the above disclosures in mind).
The report summaries and the more detailed research contained in the PDF files do NOT include good long term technical charts, descriptions of what the company does or links to the stock pick’s IR page, current quote, or most recent statistics - all pet peeves of mine when not made available.
To make your life easier, this post includes:
A heading with the stock name.
A quick description of the stock pick with links to the IR page and stock quote(s) on Yahoo! Finance.
A link to any Wikipedia page (for what it might be worth…)
The title of the report linked to the short summary brief on the Mirae Asset Securities website.
The link to the Mirae Asset Securities research report PDF file about the stock pick.
Forward or trailing P/E and dividend yields linked back to the Yahoo! Finance statistics page.
The latest long term technical chart linked back to Yahoo! Finance.
And as always, this post is provided for informational purposes only (and again, to make your life easier…). It does not constitute investment advice and/or a recommendation…
Keep in mind that Mirae Asset Securities would more or less be doing sell side research (with all the usual conflicts of interest that can arise from doing that) and you probably will never or rarely see a sell recommendation from them - just like you almost never see a sell recommendation coming from Wall Street…
But their equity research comes with good stock financials and it’s in English (as again, many Korean stocks still do not have IR pages or financial reports in English) - meaning its a good starting point for anyone interested in investing directly in Korean stocks.
NAVER
NAVER (KRX: 035420 / OTCMKTS: NHNCF) is a global ICT company, providing South Korea’s number one search portal "NAVER" and its subsidiaries and affiliates provide services, including LINE messenger, SNOW camera app, digital comics platform NAVER WEBTOON, group social media platform, NAVER BAND, and metaverse platform ZEPETO. The sustained research and development of AI, robotics, mobility, and other future technology trends are propelling NAVER forward.
NAVER (035420 KS/Buy) HyperCLOVA X and AI business strategy unveiled
Forward P/E: 23.20 / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 0.61% (Yahoo! Finance)
Korea Gas Corporation
The main business of Korea Gas Corporation (KRX: 036460) is building terminals and a gas supply pipeline network, importing LNG, regasifying it at the terminals, and supplying it stably to local gas companies and power plants. They import LNG mainly from the Middle East (Qatar, Oman, Yemen, and Egypt), Southeast Asia (Indonesia and Malaysia), Russia (Sakhalin), Australia, and the United States.
KOGAS has grown into the largest LNG-importing company in the world. It currently operates a nationwide pipeline network spanning over 5,027(as of Jan. 2022), and supplies natural gas to 19.25 million households in 212 cities and counties with a distribution rate of 83.4% of all households nationwide (as of Dec. 2020).
KOGAS (036460 KS/Trading Buy) Restoring confidence in dividend payouts will be key
Trailing P/E: 3.33 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: N/A (Yahoo! Finance)
Seegene
Seegene (KRX: 096530) is a manufacturer of in vitro diagnostic products, particularly molecular diagnostics. Its portfolio includes a range of assays and screening products for sepsis, respiratory diseases such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, as well as sexually transmitted infections. The company has subsidiaries in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, and the Middle East.
Seegene (096530 KQ/Trading Buy) Impact of falling COVID-19-related revenue is easing
Forward P/E: N/A / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: N/A (Yahoo! Finance)
