Curiosis Executive Vice President Buys Shares After Stock Falls to 40% of IPO Price

Curiosis Executive Vice President Ahn Hee-don directly purchased 1,588 shares of the company’s common stock on the open market over two days, on the first and second of this month. The purchase price was 8,775 won to 9,070 won per share, less than half the IPO price of 22,000 won when the company listed on the KOSDAQ in November 2025. Following the purchases, Ahn’s holdings increased from 175,308 shares to 176,896 shares, while his ownership rose slightly from 1.15% to 1.16%.

Curiosis drew strong market attention on its first day of trading, when its stock surged 300% from the IPO price to close at 88,000 won. However, about 10 months after listing, the stock has sharply declined to the 8,000- to 9,000-won range. It is also down nearly 60% from the IPO price, effectively extinguishing the early enthusiasm surrounding the listing.

A biotech equipment company specializing in localization

Founded in 2015, Curiosis is a biotech materials and equipment company specializing in lab automation. Its main products are the live-cell imaging system Celloger and the cell separation system Cellpuri, which automate cell observation, analysis and culture processes. Although South Korea’s biotechnology industry has world-class contract development and manufacturing organization capabilities through companies such as Samsung Biologics and Celltrion, it has largely relied on overseas companies such as Thermo Fisher and Revvity for key equipment needed for research and production.

Curiosis has sought to fill this gap by fully internalizing its mechanical, electronic and software technologies. In particular, the company has substantially reduced the size of its equipment compared with existing global competitors and possesses proprietary technology that enables operation even in incubator environments with humidity levels of about 99%. It has also had its technology externally validated through a large-scale original design manufacturing contract with global life sciences company Revvity.

Use of IPO proceeds and performance targets

At the time of its 2025 listing, Curiosis recorded an institutional demand forecast subscription ratio of 1,031 to 1, and raised about 26.4 billion won. Of that amount, 7.3 billion won is being invested in expanding its Yongin plant, while 13 billion won is being allocated to new-product R&D. The company has set revenue targets of 20 billion won for 2026 and 32 billion won for 2027. However, operating losses have continued because of increased R&D investment, making the timing of an earnings improvement a key issue.

According to market research firms such as Roots Analysis, the global lab automation market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 9.5%, from about $6.5 billion (about 8.6 trillion won) in 2025 to $16.1 billion (about 21 trillion won) in 2035. Demand to reduce labor costs and secure experimental reproducibility in the drug development and diagnostics markets is supporting clear growth potential for the market itself.

The significance of insider buying amid the stock’s sharp decline

Many in the industry view the open-market purchase by a senior executive as an internal assessment that the stock is undervalued. A financial investment industry official said, “When a vice president purchases company shares during a period in which the stock has undergone a significant correction after an IPO, it serves as a positive signal to institutional and foreign investors,” adding that it was “an action suggesting that overseas ODM contracts and new-product launch schedules are proceeding without disruption.” The possibility that overseas sales targeting the North American and European markets could begin expanding in earnest once the Yongin plant expansion is completed in the second half of 2026 is also drawing attention.

However, the size of the purchase itself is not large. The 1,588 shares amount to only about 14 million won. Some take a cautious view, saying it is too early to regard the insider purchase as a definitive signal of an earnings turnaround before high-value new product lines, including the AI-integrated digital pathology system MSP and automated colony-picking system, have actually gained a foothold in the market.