During the past week, foreign retail investors, known as 'Seohakgaemi,' have reported a higher net purchase of U.S. artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks compared to NVIDIA, with the stock being Credo Technology Group Holding (CRDO).
On the 8th, according to Korea Securities Depository (KSD), domestic investors net purchased $49,046,354 (approximately 68.1 billion won) worth of Credo Technology Group Holding (CRDO) stocks over the past week (from August 30 to September 5). This ranks fourth overall, and excluding exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it follows Tesla in second place.
In contrast, the net purchase volume for NVIDIA, which had previously attracted the investment of Seohakgaemi, significantly declined. During the prior week (from August 23 to 29), the net purchase amount of NVIDIA exceeded $240 million, but last week it dropped to $6.94 million. The rank of NVIDIA's net purchase payment fell out of the top 40.
Founded in 2022, Credo Technology creates active electrical cables (AEC) and optical digital signal processor (DSP) chips. AEC plays a crucial role in serving as a conduit for AI semiconductors to exchange data, making it essential for AI data centers. As a result, Credo Technology has garnered attention as an AI infrastructure-related stock. Credo Technology has acquired major tech corporations as customers, including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Elon Musk's AI company, Xai.
Recently, the significant purchasing of Credo Technology stocks by Seohakgaemi seems to be greatly influenced by the sharp rise in stock prices. Early this year, the stock price for Credo Technology was in the $70 range, but it recently reached $140, marking nearly a 100% increase.
Particularly, the stock price began to rise sharply at the beginning of September. On the 2nd, the stock price was $124.27, which climbed 13% to $140.82 in just four days.
The first-quarter financial results for Credo Technology for the fiscal year 2026 (covering May to July this year) exceeded market expectations. Credo Technology reported a revenue of $223 million, a 274% increase compared to the same period last year, and an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52, up 1200% from the previous year.
As a result, global investment banks (IBs) are raising their target prices for Credo Technology. Bank of America (BoA) has adjusted the target price for the company from $120 to $165.
It is expected that Seohakgaemi also managed to generate revenue. The average revenue rate for 1,702 investors of Credo Technology linked to Naver Pay's 'My Asset' service is 39.92%.
Kim Se-hwan, a researcher at KB Securities, noted, "Adopting AEC in intra-racks (installed racks for wiring and network equipment in data centers) is still in the early stages, but ultimately every hyperscaler (large cloud operator) is expected to adopt AEC for server racks and AI hardware."
Lee Chan-young, a researcher at Eugene Securities, stated, "As AI computing power increases, rack density and speed will also rise, presenting a virtuous cycle that emphasizes the importance of signal integrity assurance technology. I believe that Credo Technology's position is attractive, and the diversification of customers and expansion of business areas will continue to provide performance momentum in the future."
However, there are also criticisms that the current value is significantly overestimated. According to the investment platform MarketScreener, the 13 institutions' projections for Credo Technology's price-to-earnings ratio (PER, market capitalization ÷ net income) at the end of 2026 is around 107 times. Even the forecast for the end of 2027 places the PER at 80.5 times.