Dalba Global was the most purchased stock on Monday by so-called "top-tier" investors ranked in the top 1% by investment returns.
According to Mirae Asset Securities as of 3:30 p.m. that day, Dalba Global was the No. 1 net-buy stock among top 1% investors since the market opened.
Dalba Global is a cosmetics company known for its vegan skincare products. After implementing a cost efficiency strategy last year, the share of its marketing expenses has stabilized, and its profitability has remained relatively solid. The company has drawn market attention particularly as overseas sales continue to grow, led by Japan.
Securities analysts have taken a relatively positive view of Dalba Global's earnings trajectory. Korea Investment & Securities estimated the company's first-quarter revenue at 165 billion won, up 45% year-on-year, with operating profit rising 27% to 38 billion won. With overseas-driven growth expected to continue, the buying interest from top-tier investors is seen as reflecting such expectations.
Target price upgrades have also followed. KB Securities raised its target price for Dalba Global to 230,000 won from 220,000 won, a 4.5% increase, in a report released Monday, while maintaining a "Buy" rating. The brokerage cited strong potential for earnings improvement driven by overseas business expansion.
"Growth in Europe is expected to be the steepest, while the U.S. and Japan will drive earnings growth as offline channel rollover begins," KB Securities analyst Son Min-young said. "Accordingly, we raised our operating profit estimates for this year and next year by 2.1% and 8.9%, respectively."
"First-quarter consolidated revenue is expected to rise 43.5% year-on-year to 163.2 billion won, with operating profit increasing 9.5% to 37.7 billion won, broadly in line with consensus," Son added. "However, in the second quarter, offline reorders centered on the U.S. and Russia will be reflected in earnest, and we expect revenue and operating profit to exceed consensus by 5.5% and 9.3%, respectively."
Meanwhile, SK hynix (000660.KS) traded at 1.128 million won, down 27,000 won or 2.34% from the previous session, ranking second in net purchases.
The market that the world's No. 1 cosmetics company is eyeing — APR is jumping in too.
