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JONBUR Research · Initiation

Naturecell · 007390 · Biotech & Pharma

Naturecell: Loss-Making Biotech Trades at High Sales and Book Multiples as Funding Activity Continues

Why this report

Start of coverage: one of the 300 largest companies, written once its financial statements were in.

Naturecell, a KOSDAQ biotech and pharma company, has a market value of about ₩1.5T against trailing 12-month revenue of ₩20.5B and an operating loss of ₩3.7B. Recent filings show a convertible bond decision and a rights offering decision, and the model gives no fair value estimate.

Written Oct 13, 2026 · Data as of Oct 12, 2026 · 0 views

This is not financial advice. The report does not recommend buying or selling anything.

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Thesis

The data supports a picture of a small-revenue company valued mostly on expectations rather than current earnings. The share price closed at ₩23,600 on 2026-10-12, up 14.8% over one year and 0.9% over three months, but down 6.0% over one month. It sits between the 52-week low of ₩16,550 and high of ₩36,950. Price to sales is 74.1 and price to book is 24.1, while P/E and EV/EBITDA are not available because earnings are negative. Against this, the company has lost money in four of the last five fiscal years, and trailing free cash flow is negative at ₩22.5B. Several recent filings point to capital raising and a share acquisition, but the data does not explain their purpose or terms. Investor flows, foreign ownership and short balance data are not available, and no news headlines were provided.

Business overview

Naturecell (네이처셀) is listed on KOSDAQ in the Biotech & Pharma sector. It was founded on 1971-08-06 and listed on 1992-11-30. The CEO is 라정찬. There are 64,357,156 listed shares, giving a market capitalization of about ₩1.5T and an enterprise value of about ₩1.5T. Annual revenue has ranged from ₩19.4B to ₩32.3B over 2021-2025. The data does not describe products or pipeline, so nothing further is stated about what the company sells.

Financial analysis

Figures come from filed financial statements (DART), consolidated where available. Revenue was ₩22.2B in 2021, ₩21.6B in 2022 and ₩19.4B in 2023. It rose 67.1% to ₩32.3B in 2024, then fell 35.9% to ₩20.7B in 2025. In 2024 the company reported operating income of ₩0.6B (margin 1.8%) and net income of ₩1.2B (ROE 1.9%). In 2025 it returned to an operating loss of ₩3.6B (margin -17.6%) and a net loss of ₩2.8B (ROE -4.4%). Earlier losses were larger, including a net loss of ₩32.0B in 2021 and ₩11.7B in 2023. For the trailing 12 months to H1 2026, revenue was ₩20.5B, operating income -₩3.7B (margin -17.9%), net income -₩2.7B (margin -13.2%) and ROE -4.2%. Liabilities to equity is 40.7%. Cash is ₩21.3B against borrowings of ₩17.0B. Free cash flow is -₩22.5B, which is larger than the net loss and suggests cash is being used beyond accounting losses.

Valuation

Current multiples are P/B 24.1 and P/S 74.1. P/E, EV/EBITDA and dividend yield are not available. The year-end 2025 P/B was 22.3, so the current P/B is slightly higher. Peers in the data show P/B of 10.2 for Samsung Biologics, 2.2 for Celltrion, 23.0 for Alteogen, 4.3 for Hanmi Pharm and 16.9 for HLB, with P/E of 24.5 to 63.9 where available. Naturecell's P/B is above all of them, though those peers are far larger by market cap and are profitable in most cases. The valuation model produced no fair value estimate (fair_value_model is null), so there is no model estimate based on the assumptions shown to compare with the ₩23,600 share price.

Catalysts

  • The rights offering (paid-in capital increase) decision filed on 2026-08-26 could change the share count and the company's cash position.
  • The acquisition of shares in another company, also filed on 2026-08-26, may alter the company's asset base, though details are not in the data.
  • The convertible bond issue decision of 2026-07-22 and the securities issuance result filing of 2026-08-07 show ongoing financing activity.
  • The stock option grant filing of 2026-08-03 is a recent event related to incentives.
  • The next quarterly report will show whether the trailing operating loss of ₩3.7B is narrowing or widening.

Risks

  • Operating and net losses persist, with a trailing operating margin of -17.9%.
  • Free cash flow of -₩22.5B compares with cash of ₩21.3B, so funding needs may continue.
  • A rights offering and convertible bond could dilute existing shareholders.
  • Valuation multiples (P/B 24.1, P/S 74.1) are far above revenue and book value levels, leaving the price sensitive to changing sentiment.
  • Revenue has been volatile, falling 35.9% in 2025 after a 67.1% rise in 2024, and investor flow and short interest data are unavailable.

Closing view

The filed numbers show a company with modest revenue, recurring losses and negative cash flow, valued at a high multiple of sales and book value. Recent filings point to active financing and an acquisition, which may support funding but can also dilute holders. With no model estimate, no earnings multiples and no flow or news data, the evidence is incomplete, and the current price rests mainly on expectations that the data does not show.

Model estimate of fair value

The valuation model has no estimate for this company yet (not enough data, or no positive value with the base case).

Filings and data used

Report history

  1. Oct 13, 2026InitiationStart of coverage (300 largest)Naturecell: Loss-Making Biotech Trades at High Sales and Book Multiples as Funding Activity Continues

Built only from jonbur's own data: prices and investor flows, filed financial statements and filings, and news headlines. Disclosed (filed) data is labelled as such. Written by AI and may contain mistakes.

This is not financial advice. The report does not recommend buying or selling anything.

Source: KRX statistical information