[Featured Stocks] Overseas Vaccine Stocks Fall...Samba and Celltrion Plunge Over 5% and 8%

On the 5th, medical staff are preparing to operate the temporary COVID-19 screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] As Merck's COVID-19 pill treatment clinical trial results came out positive, domestic vaccine and treatment-related stocks are experiencing a sharp decline.

At 10:47 a.m. on the 5th, Samsung Biologics traded at 827,000 KRW, down 5.49% from the previous trading day. Celltrion recorded a 7.86% drop to 228,500 KRW. In addition, Green Cross (-9.8%), SK Bioscience (-6.03%), and Daewoong Pharmaceutical (-7.80%) also showed downward trends. It is analyzed that this was influenced by the simultaneous decline of overseas vaccine-related stocks following the positive clinical trial results of Merck's COVID pill treatment. The previous day, Moderna fell 4.4%, Novavax dropped 1.83%, and Pfizer decreased by 1.1%, while Merck closed up 2%.

Despite the positive outlook for Samsung Biologics' third-quarter performance on the same day, the stock continued to decline. Kiwoom Securities projected an operating profit of 151.5 billion KRW for the third quarter, which is expected to be 17% higher than market expectations. Huh Hyemin, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, stated, "The profit leverage effect from full operation of plants 1, 2, and 3, somewhat recognized production volume for revenue recognition, and exchange rate improvements offset each other, leading to an expected profit margin of 36%."

Regarding Celltrion, which experienced a larger drop, it is expected to report third-quarter results below market expectations. The operating profit for the third quarter was projected at 175.7 billion KRW, which is 25% below market expectations. Researcher Huh Hyemin explained, "The supply of Regkirona and Remsima SC was weaker than expected, leading to a downward revision of related sales estimates."