Meritz Financial Group Tops in Short Selling Ratio
Short selling in the South Korean stock market is increasing along with the possibility of another economic recession. Short sellers are targeting overvalued stocks and those more vulnerable to recession risks in particular.
The Korea Exchange announced on Sept. 1 that short selling in the market totaled 830.11217 billion won that day, the largest since June 17 this year. The average daily short selling was 644.8 billion won from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1, up 48.8 percent from the previous week. In KOSPI, the ratio of short selling to the total trading topped 6 percent on Aug. 31, for the first time since July 13.
Meritz Financial Group showed the highest short selling ratio, 27.54 percent, last month. This stock surged 348.52 percent in 2021 alone. As for Meritz Securities with the fifth-highest ratio of 20.37 percent, real estate project financing risks are emerging after the company showed the highest exposure to equity capital at the end of March.
Short sellers are also targeting companies with a declining performance. The short selling ratio amounts to 25.3 percent in Netmarble, which has been in the red since early this year. The ratio recently topped 20 percent in Pearl Abyss, which turned a loss in the second quarter. The ratios are 22.93 percent and 21.36 percent in SK Biopharmaceuticals and Seegene, respectively.