Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Suwon business campus. [Samsung Electro-Mechanics]
Samsung Electro-Mechanics' Suwon business campus. [Samsung Electro-Mechanics]

The Kospi briefly reclaimed the 9,000 mark during intraday trading Thursday as Micron Technology's latest results reignited semiconductor investment sentiment — but the market's top-performing investors spent a second straight session selling Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix while snapping up Samsung Electro-Mechanics, SK Square and LG Electronics.

According to Korea Exchange, the Kospi surged Thursday, briefly topping 9,000 during the session before closing at 8,930.30, up 459.28 points, or 5.42 percent, from the previous session.

Data from Mirae Asset Securities showed that high-yield investors trading on its platform had bought Samsung Electro-Mechanics, SK Square and LG Electronics — in that order — as of 11 a.m. Thursday. High-yield investors are defined as those in the top 1 percent by investment return over the past month among Mirae Asset Securities' equity trading customers.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics topped the net purchase list, drawing strong attention for its competitive edge over global rivals in next-generation substrates and silicon capacitors — a position that has driven a steady stream of target price upgrades.

Hyundai Motor Securities raised its target price for Samsung Electro-Mechanics on Wednesday to 2.8 million won from 2.3 million won ($1,500), saying the company "is responding faster than anyone else in the next-generation substrate market, beyond multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) and flip-chip ball grid array (FC-BGA)." The brokerage added that Samsung Electro-Mechanics "will continue its dominant run, delivering meaningful results in new businesses alongside the traditional MLCC shortage momentum."

Samsung Electro-Mechanics shares closed Thursday at 1,997,000 won, up 1.68 percent from the previous session.

SK Square, SK Hynix's largest shareholder, ranked second on the net purchase list.

SK Square holds a 20 percent stake in SK Hynix, meaning gains in SK Hynix's share price driven by an improving semiconductor cycle are feeding directly into SK Square's own valuation.

"Preference for SK Square will continue to rise, particularly among investors looking to increase their semiconductor exposure within their investment portfolios," said Ahn Jae-min, an analyst at NH Investment Securities.

SK Square shares closed Thursday at 1,899,000 won, up 5.56 percent from the previous session.

LG Electronics came in third on the net purchase list, though its shares slipped 0.73 percent to close at 203,000 won Thursday.

LG Electronics and other LG Group stocks have attracted heightened attention recently on expectations of deeper cooperation with Nvidia.

Analysts have argued that LG Electronics deserves to be reappraised as a high-growth stock leading AI data center solutions and robotics — not merely a home appliance maker. The company has also drawn second-quarter earnings surprise forecasts, prompting sharp target price upgrades.

Kyobo Securities raised its target price for LG Electronics to 350,000 won from 180,000 won on Tuesday, maintaining a "buy" recommendation.

"LG Electronics has long been seen purely as a home appliance company, but it now needs to be revalued as a growth stock expanding into AI data center cooling solutions — chillers — for North American big tech firms, as well as robotics," said Choi Bo-young, an analyst at Kyobo Securities.

Meanwhile, the top net-sold stocks Thursday included SK Corp, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com