Socionext Inc. stock is set to fall after announcing Wednesday that its top shareholders plan to offload their entire stake in the Japanese chip design firm.
Shares were untraded as of 9:07 a.m. in Tokyo due to a glut of sell orders, indicating prices were likely to drop. Panasonic Holdings Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Development Bank of Japan Inc. will sell about 12.6 million Socionext shares in overseas markets as nine months have passed since the stock’s listing, according the company’s filing. That represents about ¥277 billion ($1.95 billion), based on Wednesday’s closing price.
“We expect a negative share-price reaction in the short term on liquidity issues given the three firms are simultaneously selling off virtually all their shareholdings,” SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. analyst Takeru Hanaya wrote in a note. “However, we think the risk of overhang will play out in the medium term given the current direction of events.”
Socionext has surged 278% this year through Wednesday, outperforming the 22% gains in Topix to become the top performer in the gauge on artificial intelligence-driven demand for semiconductor stocks.
