"Have Bio Stocks Hit Bottom or Will They Fall Further?... 15 Trillion Won Wiped Out from KOSDAQ Bio in Half a Year"

23 KOSDAQ150 Healthcare Companies See 15% Market Cap Plunge in Six Months
Sharp Decline Amid Sector Downturn
Rebound Hinges on Easing Semiconductor Focus and Individual Achievements

The 'holding out' phase for KOSDAQ-listed bio companies is dragging on. While the KOSPI continues to hit record highs, led by major semiconductor stocks, bio stocks—typically considered leading growth stocks—are being left out of the rally. Even positive news such as clinical trial results and technology transfer announcements have led to only limited stock price reactions. Market analysts say that a genuine rebound in bio stocks will only be possible when the supply-demand concentration in semiconductors eases and individual companies show tangible achievements, such as large-scale technology exports.

According to the Korea Exchange Information Data System on June 23, the total market capitalization of 23 companies included in the KOSDAQ150 Healthcare index, which remained in the index both at the end of last year and as of the previous day, decreased from 100.5254 trillion won at the closing price on December 30, 2025, to 85.6616 trillion won at the previous day's close. This represents a loss of 14.8638 trillion won (14.79%) in just half a year.

The largest market capitalization decline was seen at ABL Bio. ABL Bio's market cap shrank by 5.555 trillion won, falling from 11.025 trillion won at the end of last year to 5.47 trillion won as of the previous day. Alteogen also experienced a decrease of 5.2689 trillion won, from 24.0509 trillion won to 18.782 trillion won over the same period. LIG ChemBio (-1.4023 trillion won), Peptron (-1.1425 trillion won), and PharmaResearch (-1.1376 trillion won) also saw declines of more than 1 trillion won each.

Market observers point out that the current decline cannot be explained solely by a deterioration in individual company value. The prevailing view is that as funds have concentrated in major semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix on the KOSPI, KOSDAQ, bio, and small- and mid-cap growth stocks have been sidelined in relative terms. Even as the KOSPI surpassed the 9,000 mark, many stocks—except for a few leading names—continued to underperform.

Bio stocks are also highly sensitive to interest rates. For new drug development companies, valuation is often based more on future cash flows and the value of their pipelines than on current profits. When interest rates rise, the discount rate applied to convert future profits to present value increases, which in turn raises valuation pressure. Recently, discussions about the possibility of additional tightening in both Korea and the United States have also been cited as factors dampening investor sentiment towards growth stocks.

Securities industry experts say that it is difficult to predict when a rebound in bio stocks might occur. Kim Junyoung, a researcher at iM Securities, explained, "Only when the current concentration in S7 (Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, SK Square, Samsung Electronics preferred, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung C&T) subsides can we expect KOSDAQ, with its high bio stock weighting, to take off." He added, "Given the strong earnings power of semiconductors alone, a KOSPI level around 11,000 is justifiable. It is not too late to consider a rally in major underperforming sectors like KOSDAQ and bio after that point."

From a price perspective, some analysts believe bio stocks are nearing bottom levels. In a report released on June 9, Huh Hyemin, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, noted, "The KOSDAQ pharmaceutical index is experiencing the steepest correction among major historical adjustment phases." She added, "During the same period, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) and the S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) in the U.S. have maintained an upward trend, indicating that the current correction is more attributable to weakened domestic supply and demand and sector rotation, rather than a deterioration in global bio fundamentals."

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the rebound of bio stocks is likely to depend on the performance of individual companies, rather than a sector-wide rotation. Huh explained, "While price corrections have brought valuations close to bottom territory, a full-fledged rebound will require confirmation that semiconductor concentration has eased, that sensitivity to negative factors has lessened, that individual stocks are once again responding positively to technology transfer and clinical data news, and that sector rotation into growth stocks within KOSDAQ is resuming."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.