Shares of Gigadevice Semiconductor Inc. (SH: 603986) have nearly halved from their recent peak.

Amid a significant pullback in technology stocks, eight asset management plans under China Life Insurance Company Limited (SH: 601628) successfully executed a sell-off near the top of the rally in memory chip leader Gigadevice.

China Life Insurance disclosed on the evening of July 20th that its eight asset management plans collectively sold approximately 1.1092 million shares of Gigadevice on July 8th. The selling prices ranged from 611.46 yuan to 624.61 yuan per share, generating total proceeds of about 6.85 billion yuan. All transactions were confirmed on the same day. As the purchase timing is unknown, the exact profit from this sale by the eight plans is difficult to calculate.

The announcement further revealed that among the eight plans involved in the sale, seven were established in cooperation with China Universal Asset Management, and one with ChinaAMC. The investment strategies of these plans include balanced and growth-oriented types. Based on the product names, the corresponding accounts cover four categories: traditional, universal insurance A, universal insurance B, and participating.

Gigadevice has been a major performer in the memory sector. Starting from around 55 yuan in February 2024, its stock price surged dramatically, reaching an all-time intraday high above 843 yuan on July 1st of this year. Over approximately two and a half years, the stock accumulated gains of nearly 14-fold, with its market capitalization exceeding 590 billion yuan at the peak.

Prior to China Life's sale, Gigadevice shares had already retreated from their highs but remained elevated. On July 1st, after a slight gap down at the open, the stock rose nearly 4%, hitting an intraday high of 843.38 yuan before beginning a volatile descent. It closed that day at 772.01 yuan, down 5.27%, and continued to decline for the next five consecutive trading sessions. By the close on July 8th, the share price was 603.17 yuan.

Measured from the peak, the stock fell over 240 yuan in those six trading days, a decline of nearly 30%. On the day of China Life's sale, the stock closed down 2.71%, with an intraday maximum drop of 5% and a price swing of 8.39%.

The day after China Life's divestment, the stock rebounded sharply, closing limit-up. However, it subsequently resumed a steep downward trajectory. On July 20th, the share price hit an intraday low of 416.88 yuan, nearly halving from its peak, before closing at 432.3 yuan, down 6.66%. Its latest market capitalization stands at approximately 303.3 billion yuan, having evaporated nearly 290 billion yuan from its high.

A review of Gigadevice's first-quarter report shows that as of the end of March this year, none of the eight China Life asset management plans involved in the sale were among the top ten circulating shareholders. According to available third-party data, these eight plans from China Life are also not listed among the various institutions holding Gigadevice shares in disclosed half-year reports.

China Life Insurance Group stated on the 20th that it remains firmly optimistic about the bright prospects of the Chinese economy and the long-term positive trend of the capital market. Recently, its major investment platform, China Life Asset Management, has been actively allocating in the market, with net purchases of equity assets in the A-share and on/off-exchange fund markets exceeding 10 billion yuan in a single day. China Life Asset Management stated it will consistently adhere to the investment philosophy of long-term, value, and prudent investing for insurance funds. It will continue to leverage its mechanisms for facilitating medium- to long-term capital entry into the market, seize strategic allocation opportunities, optimize and enhance the structure and proportion of equity investments, and increase allocations to key areas such as the modern industrial system and new quality productive forces.