According to the financial investment industry on the 4th, Coupang’s stock price in the New York Stock Exchange on the 3rd (local time) fell by 0.2 dollars (0.67%) to close at 29.65 dollars, making a new low based on the closing price since listing. It is far below the stock price of $49.25, which was the first day of listing on March 11, and the price of $35. Coupang’s stock price has been stagnant since it started dropping below $30 in late last month. As a result, Coupang’s market capitalization, which once reached 100 trillion won on the first day of listing, has shrunk to 59 trillion won.
The problem is that, from the beginning of next week, the amount of protection deposits for Coupang stocks held by major shareholders may be released additionally, raising the observation that the burden on the share price may increase.
At the time of listing in March, Coupang signed a deposit protection contract with investors that prohibits the trading of stocks for up to 180 days after listing. This is a measure to protect general investors by preventing major shareholders from taking profits immediately after listing and negatively affecting the initial share price formation.
In this regard, NH Investment & Securities Researcher Lee Ji-young said in a report in the first half of this year, “In the short term, after 1.5% on May 18 and 7.5% on June 9, the protection deposit for the remaining stake (about 83%) is expected to be lifted on September 7. , it is necessary to check the short-term overhang risk.”
Currently, the market estimates that the Coupang stake that can come out on the market after the protection deposit is lifted is close to 84% of the total stake. The stakes held by institutional investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund with the highest stake (36.4% stake), Greenox Capital, Maverick Capital, Tyrore, and BlackRock are mentioned as potential stocks.
The market is predicting that although it is unlikely that these institutions will liquidate their shares in Coupang all at once, it will be inevitable to take some profit. In this case, it is analyzed that the burden of an additional share price drop will inevitably increase.
Kim Myung-joo, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said in a recent report, “The PSR based on our estimate in 2022 is trading at 2.2 times.” Considering Korea’s small online market size and high penetration rate compared to the US, Coupang still has a valuation burden,” he said.
Im Soo-yeon, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, also analyzed in a recent report, “Considering the size of the retail market, concerns about high multiple still exist.”
“However, given the continued high growth in sales, the effect of economies of scale resulting from the expansion of market share in the retail sector and the decline in losses in other sectors such as Coupang Eats and Coupang Fresh are expected to improve profitability in the future.”
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