Macrogen (038290) 🔎 In-depth
KOSDAQ · Price as of 2026-08-06 · Updated 2026-08-09
Rather than developing drugs itself, Macrogen earns revenue from genome analysis, reading the genetic information (DNA and RNA) of research institutes, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Its revenue comes from two pillars: contract analysis services such as sequencing (NGS) and biochips, and precision diagnostics such as cancer and pharmacogenomics, with throughput scaling up through the Songdo Global Genome Center. The third tranche (₩8.2 billion) of the National Integrated Bio Big Data project it is running with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (Macrogen's share ₩17.55 billion) is concentrated in August-December 2026, and the company expanded shareholder returns in 2025 with a payout ratio of 37.4% and dividends of ₩5.42 billion (up 66.7% year on year). What stands out recently is that, having broken a four-year run of losses to return to profit, its forward P/E falls to nearly half the 64x on last year's confirmed basis, supported by a P/B of 0.87x and a dividend yield of 3.7%. At the same time, the thin profitability of an early recovery, along with a debt ratio of 123.6% and a current ratio of 82.3% pointing to short-term financial tension, must be weighed alongside.
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30-second brief
Pulled directly from the computed values below — not a separately written opinion.
What do the SourceComputedEstimateReading tags mean?
Source filings and exchange data · Computed calculated from public data · Estimate our own unverified projection · Reading drafted automatically, then rule-checked. See AI & Automation.
Core valuation metric
This stock's effective sub-sector is “Diagnostics & Molecular Diagnostics” (Biotech & Pharmaceuticals · Biotech (Drug Development & Research)), a type typically read first through P/E.
Molecular diagnostics firms often earn real profits from testing services and products, so price-to-earnings (P/E) — the price against those profits — is the default starting point. But in a loss-making year, driven by demand swings or heavier investment, earnings-based multiples break down, so you read EV/Sales — enterprise value against revenue — instead.
Price against earnings alone becomes unstable when earnings swing. Reading it together with price against assets helps gauge the downside.
This note explains how each sector is typically valued and is educational context only, not investment advice.
At-a-glance assessment financial health · growth · profitability · valuation
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 79.4%).
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- Revenue rose 43.8% year over year, and the pace is quickening (3-year trend: rising).
- Net profit swung from a loss a year earlier back into the black (a turnaround).
- Most recent quarter (Q1 2026) revenue was 10.6% higher than a year earlier.
- ROE is 1.3% (controlling-interest basis). It is below the sector average.
- Operating margin is 0.1%.
- A sector-metric and in-depth research verdict — see “Valuation vs peers” below for the basis.
Ownership & governance As of 2025-12-31
Largest shareholder Suh Jeong-sun 17.49% (individual)
Controlling bloc incl. related parties 20.13%
With the controlling bloc holding 20%, control is maintained but the free float is relatively large.
🔎 In-depth analysis Reading
Macrogen's core business is genome analysis, reading the genetic information (DNA and RNA) of living organisms. Revenue flows mainly along two lines. The first is contract analysis services entrusted by research and clinical institutions, such as sequencing (NGS, next-generation sequencing that rapidly decodes an entire genome), biochips, oligo synthesis, and bioinformatics. The second is precision diagnostics, including cancer genome testing, pharmacogenomic analysis, and clinical-trial sample analysis. In other words, this is not a company that develops and sells its own drugs; it makes money as an analysis infrastructure that "reads genes and turns them into data" for a client base of research institutes, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Recently it has taken on data production for a nationally driven Integrated Bio Big Data initiative and, through the Songdo Global Genome Center, has been shifting its center of gravity toward automating and standardizing large-scale genome analysis, scaling up throughput.
The latest close is ₩12,150 and the market capitalization is ₩131.7 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩11,464) and below its 60-day moving average (₩12,505). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 55.6, a neutral level. The one-month change is -2.4%, the three-month change is -22.7%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -37.8%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 54 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 54% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 15.8%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Starting with valuation, the P/B (how many times the company's net assets the share price represents) is 0.87x, below 1x. That means market capitalization is priced below book equity, and set against peers in similar businesses that mostly trade above a P/B of 1x, it marks a clear undervaluation zone on an asset-value basis. The P/E (how many times one year's net profit the share price represents) prints high at 64x on last year's confirmed earnings, but reading that number straight as "expensive" would be a mistake. Because 2025 was the first year of returning to profit from losses, the profit being divided is still small, temporarily inflating the P/E. For such an earnings-inflection stock, the true picture is the forward P/E based on this year's expected profit rather than last year's number, and that value falls to nearly half of the trailing figure. Profitability is still at the thin, early stage of the swing to profit, with an ROE (how much a company earns in a year on its equity) of 1.3% and an operating margin of 0.1%, but the direction is one of thickening quickly right after exiting losses. On the balance sheet, a debt ratio (debt against equity) of 223.6% and a current ratio (assets that can be converted to cash within a year against debt due within a year) of 82.3% mean short-term liquidity is worth watching. Meanwhile, a dividend yield of 3.7% (₩500 per share) and classification as a high-dividend company under the Restriction of Special Taxation Act are a clear shareholder-return strength.
Growth is this company's clearest strength. Revenue in 2025 was ₩195.3 billion, up 43.8% year on year, far outpacing the prior year's growth rate (2.2%), and on a five-year view it grew steadily from ₩129.2 billion in 2021 to ₩195.3 billion in 2025. The bottom line was even more dramatic: net profit narrowed its losses year by year from -₩22.3 billion in 2022, -₩16.8 billion in 2023, and -₩7.6 billion in 2024 before turning positive at ₩2.0 billion in 2025. There is a clear basis for profit thickening a further step this year. The third tranche of ₩8.2 billion from the National Integrated Bio Big Data project is concentrated in August-December 2026, directly lifting second-half revenue, and as the large-scale automation lines of the Songdo Global Genome Center come into full operation, a structure is taking shape that can leave more profit from the same revenue. That the forward P/E based on this year's expected profit falls to nearly half of the 64x on last year's confirmed basis simply reflects that this year's profit steps up a level from last year. In Q1 2026, revenue rose 10.6% year on year but operating and net profit were small losses of -₩0.5 billion and -₩0.8 billion respectively; this owes to the schedule, with order volumes weighted to the second half, and is best read as a sign that the recovery does not arrive in a straight line quarter by quarter.
The disclosure flow can be summarized as "large orders + shareholder returns + governance overhaul." The heaviest item is the supply contract for the National Integrated Bio Big Data project with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, in which Macrogen's confirmed share is ₩17.55 billion (13.2% of 2023 revenue), proceeding in stages from late 2024 through December 2026. In particular, the third tranche (₩8.2 billion) is concentrated in August-December 2026, forming a solid foundation for this year's second-half revenue. A corporate value-up plan announced in March 2026 laid out broad directions of strengthening analysis competitiveness centered on the Songdo Global Genome Center, building an AI-based precision-medicine system, expanding the profitability of overseas subsidiaries, and maintaining the dividend policy, while shareholder returns were expanded with a 2025 payout ratio of 37.4% and dividends of ₩5.42 billion (up 66.7% year on year). Around the same time, a governance overhaul including a change of CEO and the appointment of outside directors was carried out, refining the framework for executing the growth strategy.
The picture for this stock is relatively clear. On the strong side, revenue is growing again by double digits, breaking a four-year run of losses to return to profit, and the forward P/E based on this year's profit falls to nearly half of the 64x on last year's confirmed basis. The P/B of 0.81x is lower than peers in similar businesses (mostly above 1x), marking an undervaluation zone on an asset-value basis, and shareholder returns are supported by a 3.7% dividend yield and high-dividend-company classification. Add the concrete growth drivers of the second-half volume from the national bio big-data project and the Songdo center coming online, and asset value and earnings recovery are moving together. On the other side, the points to watch are that profitability is still at the thin, early stage of the swing to profit, that recovery swings quarter to quarter as the small Q1 2026 loss showed, and that a debt ratio of 123.6% and a current ratio of 82.3% leave lingering short-term financial tension. In sum, as long as the second-half order volumes flow through into profit on schedule and short-term liquidity is managed, this is a strong phase in which undervaluation against asset value and earnings recovery come to the fore together, while if the profit margin thins again or quarterly losses continue, the pace of recovery may look sluggish.
🔎 Valuation vs peers Inconclusive
Selected from a KOSDAQ peer set in genome analysis, molecular diagnostics, and bio testing (centered on analysis services and diagnostics); because loss-making drug-development-stage companies have a different business structure, the comparison is centered on P/B and dividends.
| Peer | P/E | P/B | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genomictree | 0.00x | 2.63x | -7.81% |
| Boditech Med | 10.45x | 1.02x | 10.72% |
| Helixmith | 0.00x | 1.11x | -0.31% |
Set against peers with similar businesses, Macrogen's position is mixed. (a) The P/B of 0.81x is lower than Genomictree (2.7x), Helixmith (1.58x), and Boditech Med (1.02x), a clear discount on an asset-value basis. (b) The 3.7% dividend yield is a distinct premium factor versus a peer set where many pay no dividend. (c) On the other hand, the P/E of 72x is inflated because 2025 net profit had just turned positive, leaving a small profit to divide by; at an earnings inflection, the trailing P/E is low in reliability. On this year's expected profit (forward), there is room for the multiple to come down as second-half order volumes are added, but with the profit itself thin, the appeal of asset value and the lack of profitability are finely balanced. A conclusive undervalued/overvalued call is therefore less appropriate than Inconclusive.
Price history Close · MA20 · MA60
The latest close is ₩12,150 and the market capitalization is ₩131.7 billion. The price sits above its 20-day moving average (₩11,464) and below its 60-day moving average (₩12,505). Short-term and medium-term trends are diverging, so the direction is best read separately. The RSI (a supplementary indicator that gauges the strength of gains versus losses over the past 14 days on a 0-100 scale) is 55.6, a neutral level. The one-month change is -2.4%, the three-month change is -22.7%, and the position relative to the 52-week high is -37.8%. Relative strength versus the KOSDAQ is 54 (on a 1-99 scale, converted from returns against the index over the past year with more weight on recent performance; higher means stronger than the market). It is stronger than roughly 54% of all stocks. Over the past three months it outpaced the index by 15.8%. Chart interpretation is best done alongside trading volume and the dates on which disclosures occur.
Relative performance stock vs index · start = 100
Excess return vs index · 3M +15.76% / 6M -7.52% / 12M -20.75%
Key metrics Computed vs sector median
Valuation
The P/E of 64.90x is above the sector median (28.09x). The P/B of 0.87x is below the sector median (1.16x).
Enterprise value (EV)
EV = market cap + net debt. It reflects cash and debt, so it captures the real cost of the whole business that market cap alone misses; lower multiples are cheaper relative to earnings or sales.
Profitability & financials
Return on equity (ROE) is 1.3%, below the sector average (2.0%). The operating margin is 0.1%. The debt ratio is 132.2%, so the financial structure is moderate.
Growth FY2025 · annual report (consolidated)
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $93.3M | $95.4M | $137.2M | +43.82% ↑ faster |
| Operating profit | -$297,240 | -$4.5M | $127,209 | — |
| Net profit | -$11.8M | -$5.3M | $1.4M | — |
| 5-year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $90.7M | $97.4M | $93.3M | $95.4M | $137.2M |
| Operating profit | $8.3M | $3.7M | -$297,240 | -$4.5M | $127,209 |
| Net profit | $781,085 | -$15.6M | -$11.8M | -$5.3M | $1.4M |
| Revenue CAGR | 4-yr avg 10.88% | ||||
Revenue rose 43.8% year over year (2023 ₩132.8 billion → 2024 ₩135.8 billion → 2025 ₩195.3 billion), and the three-year trend is 'rising'. The pace of growth also quickened from the prior year. Over the 5 years on record, revenue compound annual growth (CAGR) is 10.9%. The two-year revenue CAGR is 21.3%. In the most recent quarter (Q1 2026), revenue was 10.6% higher than the same period a year earlier.
Latest quarterly results Source Q1 2026 · vs year-ago
Technical indicators Computed
What stands out
- The dividend yield, at 4.1%, is on the high side.
- Revenue grew 43.8% year over year, a sign of growth.
Points to watch
- Assets that can be turned to cash within a year fall short of near-term liabilities (current ratio 79.4%).
- Operating profit barely covers the interest bill (interest coverage below 1x).
- The price is high versus peers, so expectations already appear priced in.
Recent news & events searched · sourced
- 2026-03-27UpdateSupply contract with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology for the National Integrated Bio Big Data project (production and basic analysis of genomic and transcriptomic data). Macrogen's confirmed share is ₩17.55 billion (13.2% of 2023 revenue), with the third tranche of ₩8.2 billion executed August-December 15, 2026.Positive over both the short and medium term. A visible foundation for second-half revenue and a core volume that lifts the Songdo center's utilization rate. Source
- 2026-03-26FilingCorporate value-up plan (voluntary disclosure): laid out directions of strengthening analysis competitiveness centered on the Songdo Global Genome Center, building an AI-based precision-medicine system, expanding overseas-subsidiary profitability, and maintaining the dividend policy.Positive over the medium term. The company has formalized its growth strategy and commitment to shareholder returns. Source
- 2026-03-26DividendDividend decision for fiscal 2025: payout ratio 37.4%, dividends ₩5.42 billion (up 66.7% from ₩3.25 billion the prior year). Qualifies as a high-dividend company under the Restriction of Special Taxation Act.Positive over both the short and medium term. A shareholder return that supports the downside at ₩500 per share and a 3.7% dividend yield. Source
- 2026-05-15EarningsQ1 2026 quarterly report: revenue ₩45.29 billion (up 10.6% year on year), operating profit -₩0.51 billion, net profit -₩0.83 billion; the top line grew but the bottom line was a small loss.Mixed in the short term. Revenue growth continues, but confirms a phase in which the swing to profit fluctuates quarter to quarter. Source
- 2026-03-31FilingAnnual general meeting results, change of CEO, and appointment/dismissal of outside directors. Overhaul of the management and board composition.Neutral to positive over the medium term. A governance overhaul that puts a framework in place for executing the strategy. Source
Figure cross-check computed ↔ external
| Metric | Computed | External | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 payout ratio and dividends | payout_ratio approx. 2.67(base) / 3.7%·DPS ₩500 | 37.4%, ₩5.4 billion | Confirmed | link |
| Single-sale/supply contract size | base disclosures [amended] single supply contract signed(2026-03-27, major) | contract value ₩17.6 billion, (2023) revenue 13.22%, 2024-12-03~2026-12-15 | Confirmed | link |
| Q1 2026 revenue and profit/loss | revenue 452.9(YoY +10.6%), -5.1, -8.3(base quarter) | (2026.03) , base | Unverified | link |
| 2026 estimated net profit (in-house estimate) | — | — | Unverified | — |
Recent filings Source
- 2026-05-29OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-05-28Disclosure
- 2026-05-15PeriodicQuarterly report
- 2026-05-14OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-04-27OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-31Disclosure
- 2026-03-31Disclosure
- 2026-03-31Shareholders' meeting notice
- 2026-03-30OwnershipOwnership-change filing
- 2026-03-27Single supply/sales contract (amended)
- 2026-03-26Disclosure
- 2026-03-23PeriodicAnnual business report
📖 Plain-language glossary — expand if you are new to this
- P/E
- How many times a year's net profit the price is worth (lower is cheaper relative to earnings). The P/E here is on trailing (last full-year) results; for companies whose earnings swing fast (memory chips and other cyclicals/high-growth), a forward P/E on this year's expected earnings is more accurate.
- P/B
- Price relative to net assets (equity). Around 1x means it trades near book value; below 1x means below book.
- P/S
- Price relative to a year's revenue — useful for growth companies with thin earnings.
- Net debt / EV
- Net debt = interest-bearing debt − cash. Negative means more cash than debt (net cash). EV (enterprise value) = market cap + net debt, closer to what it would cost to buy the whole business.
- EV/EBIT · EV/EBITDA · EV/Sales
- Enterprise value against operating profit (EBIT), EBITDA, or revenue. Unlike P/E these reflect debt and cash; lower is cheaper relative to earnings power or sales.
- FCF / FCF yield
- Free cash flow = operating cash − capex, the cash actually left over. FCF yield = FCF ÷ market cap; higher means more cash generated per unit of market value.
- Intrinsic value (DCF)
- Future free cash flow (or, for some capex-heavy but profitable names, forecast earnings) discounted to today to estimate per-share value. Because it shifts a lot with the discount-rate and growth assumptions, it is shown as a bear/base/bull range, and the basis and assumptions are disclosed in one line beneath it.
- ROE
- How much profit the company earns in a year on its equity (%). Higher means better returns on capital.
- EPS / BPS
- Earnings per share / net assets (book value) per share.
- Operating / net margin
- Profit left from the core business / final profit after tax and interest, per unit of revenue.
- Debt ratio
- Debt relative to equity (%). Higher means more reliance on borrowing (norms vary by sector).
- Current ratio
- Assets convertible to cash within a year against debt due within a year. Above 100% leaves some short-term headroom.
- Interest coverage
- How many times operating profit covers the interest owed. Below 1x means operating profit alone struggles to cover interest.
- Dividend yield / payout ratio
- The year's dividend as a % of today's price / the share of earnings paid out as dividends.
- Revenue CAGR
- Multi-year growth expressed as a single yearly average (compound annual growth rate).
- RSI (short-term signal)
- Whether recent price action is overheated or beaten down. Above 70 is overbought, below 30 oversold.
- MA20 / MA60 (moving averages)
- The 20- and 60-day average price. Price above them signals a firmer short-term trend.
- vs 52-week high
- How far below the past year's peak the price sits now (%).
All figures are for reference only; how they read varies by sector and over time.
Sources: Korea FSC market-price API (data.go.kr), OpenDART, KRX/KIND — public data only.
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