Singapore Airlines shares drops most in over a year after block sale

SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Singapore Airlines Ltd slumped the most in more than a year after a block of shares amounting to nearly 3% of the float traded on Friday evening.

Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte had earlier offered to sell the same number of shares, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg on Wednesday.

The carrier closed down 4.7% at S$7.15, the largest decline since February 2022. The slide trims this year’s gain to 29%, from as much as 46% when it reached its intraday high for the year of S$8.05 two weeks ago.

The proportion of analysts who have a sell rating on the shares has increased to 39% this month from 25% at the end of May, signaling the carrier is overpriced. The shares are still trading about 8% above the consensus 12-month target of analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

"Temasek executing this block trade is suggesting that the stock is trading at a premium,” said Jason Sum, an analyst at DBS Bank Ltd. in Singapore. The investor is looking to re-balance its portfolio by offloading some shares, he said.

Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to equal weight from overweight in mid-June, saying the strong fundamentals that led to its peer-beating rally have "played out.” - Bloomberg