Korea Investment Holdings shares jumped 12% early on the 12th. The move is seen as driven by subsidiary Korea Investment & Securities Co. becoming the first in the securities industry to post 2 trillion won in net profit.
As of 9:32 a.m., Korea Investment Holdings was trading at 255,500 won on the main board, up 12.80% (29,000 won) from the previous day.
A day earlier, on the 11th, Korea Investment & Securities Co. said in a preliminary earnings filing that last year's net profit under consolidation was 2.0135 trillion won and operating profit was 2.3427 trillion won. Net profit rose 79.9% from a year earlier, and operating profit rose 82.5%. With that, the first "2 trillion club" among securities firms was born.
Brokerages also raised their target price for Korea Investment Holdings. Shinhan Investment & Securities lifted its target price 40% to 350,000 won from 250,000 won.
Lim Hee-yeon, an analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "In a phase of widening gaps in capital efficiency, a premium is warranted," and noted, "We view it as the front-runner in polarization based on the compounding effect of capital."