Stock market tomorrow October 15: Stocks listed at sky-high prices, should you buy at the peak?

At the end of the trading session on October 14, VN-Index closed at 1,761 points, down more than 4 points compared to the previous session; HNX Index slightly decreased to 275 points while Upcom Index increased 0.45 points to more than 113 points. VN30 Index still increased 1.41 points to exceed 2,000 points.

Market liquidity increased as trading volume on the HOSE increased by 21.1% compared to the previous session. However, selling pressure increased quite strongly in many small-cap stocks in the real estate, industrial park, oil and gas, seafood, technology, construction groups...

According to securities companies, the short-term trend of the market remains positive after surpassing the 1,700-point peak thanks to the increase of large-cap stocks.

A notable development is that many investors are interested in the upcoming listing of many securities companies - initial public offerings (IPOs) such as TCBS, VPBankS, VPS. Notably, VPS Securities Company is expected to list with a minimum offering price of VND60,000/share.

According to VPS, this price was approved by VPS's Board of Directors on the basis of not being lower than the book value of a share according to the audited 2025 Interim Financial Report; reflecting the prospect of sustainable growth.

However, many investors believe that this price is too high compared to the average price of top securities companies such as SSI, VCI, MBS, HCM, VND... Some even say that this price is "crazy".

Talking to a reporter from Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung - General Director of FinSuccess Investment Joint Stock Company, analyzed to evaluate the IPO price of a securities company, especially in the case of VPS, it is necessary to look at both perspectives: relative valuation and expected valuation.

In terms of relative valuation, with equity as of September 30, 2025 of about VND 13,297 billion and the number of outstanding shares after the bonus is 1.28 billion shares, the book value is about VND 10,400/share. At the offering price of VND 60,000, the book value (P/B) is about 5.8 times. Compared with listed companies such as SSI, HCM, or VCI... it is clear that this valuation is not cheap if viewed purely based on book value.

Chứng khoán ngày mai 15 - 10: Cổ phiếu VPS chào bán giá cao và tiềm năng đầu tư - Ảnh 2. — Some stocks are about to go public with sky-high listing prices.

"The difference of VPS lies in its business model and market position. VPS is a pure service company, without many large proprietary trading accounts, but focuses strongly on brokerage, margin lending and investment banking. A high IPO price does not mean "crazy price", but shows the market's expectations on the growth rate and future profitability of the business" - Mr. Trung said.

Mr. Nguyen Danh Thai, Macro Expert, CKG Vietnam Company, commented that 2025 is considered the year of the IPO wave. Companies will offer their shares to the public for the first time, thanks to three main driving forces, including the Government's orientation of the stock market to become the main capital mobilization channel instead of bank credit, while encouraging the private economic sector...

With VPS securities (listed code VCK), the controversial point is the minimum offering price of VND60,000/share, leading to a business valuation of about VND89,000 billion (about USD3.4 billion), causing many investors to think the price is "crazy".

"Currently, VPS securities is ranked No. 1 in brokerage market share on HOSE. With the company's P/B book value after successful issuance of about 3.4 times, it is not too cheap but still attractive compared to top companies. The decision to participate or not depends on the risk appetite and holding time frame of each investor" - Mr. Nguyen Danh Thai said.