Shares of the biotech PROTEINA, which had extended gains on news of a global asset manager JP Morgan Asset Management's equity purchase, were falling on the 11th. It is seen as stemming from JP Morgan's recent profit-taking.

On July 29 at the Korea Exchange in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, at PROTEINA's KOSDAQ market listing ceremony, Kim Dae-young, Vice Chairman of the Korea IR Association (from left), Min Kyung-wook, Head of the KOSDAQ Market Division at the Korea Exchange, Yoon Tae-young, CEO of PROTEINA, Kim Seong-hwan, CEO of Korea Investment & Securities, and Kang Wang-rak, Vice Chairman of the KOSDAQ Association, pose for a commemorative photo. /Courtesy of Korea Exchange

According to the Korea Exchange, as of 9:36 a.m. that day, PROTEINA was trading at 23,750 won, down 2,600 won (9.87%) from the previous trading day.

This is attributed to a filing that JP Morgan sold 246,029 shares (2.27%) of PROTEINA on the market from 5th to 8th. During this period, JP Morgan appears to have sold all PROTEINA shares in the 26,000-won-per-share range.

Earlier, on 3rd, JP Morgan first disclosed that it had acquired more than 5% equity in PROTEINA, becoming a major shareholder. According to the filing, JP Morgan Asset Management's Asia-Pacific branch secured 560,500 shares (5.16%) of PROTEINA through five on-market purchases on Aug. 29. The total investment was 9.6 billion won, and the average purchase price was 15,957 won.

As news of JP Morgan's PROTEINA equity purchase became known to the market, the stock surged in a short span. On 4th, the day after the filing, it jumped 24.68%, and on the 5th and 6th it rose 6.10% and 1.92%, respectively, rewriting its post-listing high (26,600 won). The three-day gain came to about 35%.

PROTEINA is a bio corporations that analyzes protein-protein interactions. It was listed on the KOSDAQ market on Jul. 29.

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.