"Samsung Electronics heading for 360,000 won," but why are foreign investors selling? "They’re reshuffling their portfolios"

[The Financial News] Samsung Electronics posted a record operating profit of more than 57 trillion won in the first quarter of this year. Yet foreign investors still appear reluctant to step up their buying.

On April 7, Samsung Electronics announced in a regulatory filing that its first-quarter revenue came to 133 trillion won. This represents a 68.1% increase from a year earlier. Operating profit reached 57.2 trillion won, surpassing last year’s full-year operating profit of 43.6011 trillion won in just one quarter.
However, foreign investors are staying on the sidelines and have not resumed net buying.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 8th, foreign investors were net sellers of Samsung Electronics shares worth 538 billion won the previous day. This far exceeds the 358 billion won they had net bought on the 3rd and 6th.
Since the start of the year, foreign investors have continued to unload Samsung Electronics shares rather than build positions.
Foreign investors recorded net sales of 5.1149 trillion won in January, 16.6665 trillion won in February, and 19.6813 trillion won in March.
Amid this heavy selling, foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics fell to its lowest level in 12 years and seven months, since September 2013, when it stood at 48.35%. The foreign ownership ratio, which was 52.33% at the end of last year, dropped to 48.40% as of the 3rd of this month, and as of the previous day it was around 48.44%.

Analysts say Samsung Electronics’ record first-quarter operating profit, which rewrote Korean corporate history, could serve as a catalyst for a recovery in foreign inflows.
A rebound in foreign buying is seen as essential for further share-price gains. Given Samsung Electronics’ current momentum, many expect its second-quarter results to surpass even these first-quarter figures. As earnings grow, the foreign ownership ratio is also expected to rise naturally. In addition, the recent foreign selling is believed to stem from portfolio rebalancing by complex institutional players such as global pension funds and hedge funds, which is viewed as another factor that could support a future recovery in foreign demand.
Meanwhile, thanks to its record first-quarter operating profit, Samsung Electronics ranked among the top five Big Tech companies worldwide by quarterly operating income.
Among major Big Tech companies that have recently reported quarterly results, operating profits were approximately 50.9 billion dollars (about 76.1973 trillion won) for Apple, 44.3 billion dollars (about 66.3171 trillion won) for Nvidia, 38.3 billion dollars (about 57.3351 trillion won) for Microsoft, about 38.0 billion dollars (about 56.8860 trillion won) for Samsung Electronics, and 35.93 billion dollars (about 53.7872 trillion won) for Alphabet.
In response, securities firms have been racing to raise their target prices for the stock. KB Securities set a target price of 360,000 won for Samsung Electronics, DS Investment & Securities suggested 300,000 won, and Sangsangin Investment & Securities proposed 250,000 won.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter