(image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, May 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean retail investors buying foreign stocks have turned to net sellers of shares in electric vehicle leader Tesla Motors Inc. for the first time in the past 18 months.
While Tesla’s share price has fallen this month, its CEO Elon Musk’s recent behavior has also risen as a risk factor.
Net sales of Tesla stock among retail investors amounted to US$46 million this month, according to the Securities Information Broadway site operated by the Korea Securities Depository.
Sorted by month, the last time that investors turned over to net sellers of Tesla shares was December 2019.
These private investors bought almost $940 million worth of Tesla shares in January alone.
However, the amount of net purchases gradually dwindled, turning to net sales by May.
As of last Friday, Tesla’s stock price stood at $589.74, plunging by more than 30 percent since January 25 ($900.4). Tesla share price dropped by 16.8 percent in May alone.
As a result, the value of Tesla shares currently owned by retail investors dropped from $9 billion to $7.6 billion by last Friday.
“Amid stock corrections, retail investors have raised concerns regarding Musk’s reliability, and began to sell their shares to cash in on their profits,” an industry source said.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
