EcoPro BM stock mired in controversy after executives’ sell-offs

[Courtesy of EcoPro BM]

EcoPro BM Co., a South Korean manufacturer of cathode materials for electric vehicle batteries, is facing controversy over its stock price after executives sold a large number of treasury shares last month when the stock surged.

According to the Korea Exchange on Tuesday, EcoPro BM skyrocketed by around 60 percent, surging from the 250,000 won ($194) range to the 410,000 won range last month.

During this period, executives from EcoPro BM and its affiliates reportedly sold over 20 billion won worth of EcoPro BM shares. At one point, the stock even reached an all-time high of 584,000 won last month.

Among the executives, Kim Byung-hoon, CEO of EcoPro Materials, made the largest stock sale by selling 25,000 shares at 496,200 won per share, totaling 12.45 billion won on July 26.

Suh Jun-won, senior managing director of EcoPro BM’s Development Team 3, sold 4,000 shares at 450,000 won per share, amounting to 18 billion won on July 27.

Choi Moon-ho, head of the company’s Development Unit, sold a total of 5,600 shares on July 13 and 17, at 279,929 won per share.

The frequency of such disclosures of executives selling their holdings in July, totaling 13 cases, stands out compared to the mere one to three cases in the months from January to June.

EcoPro, known as the emperor stock for its stock price over 1 million won, also witnessed executive sell-offs.

Lee Soo-ho, managing director at EcoPro, sold 569 shares at a range of 802,000 to 805,000 won per share, totaling 450 million won on July 5.

While EcoPro’s executives offloaded their group shares, individual investors continued to show a strong interest in the leading battery stocks, persistently buying EcoPro shares even after the stock price exceeded 1 million won.

According to Kiwoom Securities, retail investors’ average purchase price for EcoPro shares in July was 1,009,300 won. Following EcoPro’s ascension to emperor stock, individual investors’ buying momentum intensified further.

For EcoPro BM, the average purchase price was 342,000 won, indicating that investors actively bought shares during the mid to late July period when the stock price surged into the 300,000 won range.

Meanwhile, KB Securities raised EcoPro BM’s target price from 160,000 won to 500,000 won on Tuesday, citing expectations of increased shipments of cathode materials.