KOSDAQ Market Cap 'Chunqoo Jeon-guk Era'

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] The 'size competition' among the top market capitalization stocks on KOSDAQ is becoming increasingly fierce. With new faces benefiting from positive factors, such as Alteogen, which just entered the top 10 earlier this month and recently rose to 3rd place, the reshuffling of the top market cap stocks is expected to continue.

At 9:05 AM on the 28th, Alteogen recorded 227,900 KRW, up 3.45% (7,600 KRW) from the previous day. The previous day, it reached an intraday high of 235,100 KRW, marking a 52-week high. Alteogen surpassed Celltrion Pharm to rank 3rd in market capitalization for the first time. Since the beginning of this month alone, Alteogen’s stock price has risen approximately 134%.

Alteogen’s sharp rise has once again shaken up the KOSDAQ market cap rankings. At the end of last month, Alteogen was ranked 20th, but it jumped more than 10 places to enter the top 10 at the beginning of this month and climbed to 3rd place in less than a month. The only stocks whose market cap rankings remained unchanged compared to the end of last month are Celltrion Healthcare and HLB at 1st and 2nd place, and Celltrion Pharm at 4th place. SK Materials and Hugel were pushed out of the top 10, while EcoPro BM, which was outside the top 10 at the end of last month, rose to 8th place. CJ ENM, which was 3rd, dropped to 7th, and Seegene and Pearl Abyss, which had been competing with Celltrion Pharm for 3rd place until recently, swapped positions and now remain at 5th and 6th place respectively. KMH and Studio Dragon, which were 7th and 8th, fell to 9th and 10th. Considering that all stocks ranked 3rd to 7th except EcoPro BM have occupied the 3rd place at least once, it shows how intense the competition for 3rd place is.

With the increased volatility in the stock market due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the reshuffling among the top KOSDAQ market cap stocks appears to have intensified. As volatility has increased, stock prices are reacting more sensitively to positive news. In particular, the sharp fluctuations in bio stocks related to COVID-19 have significantly influenced changes in market cap rankings. As diagnostic kit stocks gained attention, Seegene surged, and Celltrion Pharm leveraged its COVID-19 treatment development to leap into the upper ranks. Alteogen, also a bio stock, possesses a platform technology for modifying subcutaneous injection formulations. Additionally, it has been benefiting from the recent surge in Kakao’s stock price due to the rise of untact (non-face-to-face) trends. Recently, Kim Beom-su, chairman of Kakao’s board, has a brother-in-law, Hyung In-woo, CEO of Smart & Growth, who became Alteogen’s second-largest shareholder. Furthermore, EcoPro BM is a secondary battery stock that has recently shown strong performance.

Given the high volatility and the relatively small market cap gaps among stocks other than the top two, frequent ranking changes among the top KOSDAQ market cap stocks are expected to continue. Based on the previous day’s closing prices, the market caps of Alteogen, Celltrion Pharm, and Seegene are in the 3 trillion KRW range, with the gap between Alteogen and Celltrion Pharm being about 36 billion KRW. The gap between Celltrion Pharm and Seegene is also around 40 billion KRW.