The opening price was 98,000 won, double the public offering price... Reached the upper limit price (29.59%) of 127,000 won after market open
On the 2nd, at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul, attendees including Cho Jung-woo, CEO of SK Biopharm (center), are taking a commemorative photo at the SK Biopharm KOSPI listing ceremony. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] "What were you doing not buying SK Biopharm stocks?"
Office worker Mr. A received an unexpected scolding from his mother a few days ago. His mother, in her 60s, said, "These days, all my friends around me are opening securities accounts and applying for subscriptions," adding, "Everyone is going crazy over the rumor that SK Biopharm is profitable." This stock subscription craze continued on the first day of listing as well. SK Biopharm soared to the upper price limit on the day of its listing on the 2nd. The stock price reached 2.6 times the public offering price.
The opening price of SK Biopharm was 98,000 KRW, double the public offering price of 49,000 KRW. Then, right after the market opened, it immediately hit the upper limit (29.59%), reaching 127,000 KRW. This means it achieved the so-called 'ttasang'?forming an opening price at twice the public offering price and then hitting the upper limit.
SK Biopharm's ttasang was anticipated in the market. During the demand forecast for institutional investors held on the 17th and 18th of last month, it recorded a competition rate of 835.66 to 1, and in the subscription for general investors, it recorded a competition rate of 323.02 to 1, showing great popularity. In the general subscription, it raised 31 trillion KRW in deposits alone, setting a record high.
Employees who received employee stock ownership plan shares saw an average unrealized gain of about 920 million KRW on that day. According to SK Biopharm's securities issuance performance report, the employee stock ownership plan volume was 2,446,931 shares. Considering that as of the end of April, there were 207 employees including 6 executives and 201 staff members, each person received an average of 580 million KRW worth of shares. Based on the stock price that day, the average stock valuation per person reached about 1.5 billion KRW. However, since the employee stock ownership plan shares are locked for one year after listing, immediate profit realization is not possible.
As of 10 a.m. that day, SK Biopharm showed a market capitalization of 9.9458 trillion KRW, entering the Korea Exchange market capitalization ranking at 27th place in one fell swoop. LG Electronics (10.5553 trillion KRW) and Amorepacific (9.7918 trillion KRW) ranked 26th and 28th, respectively. Although there is a significant gap compared to other bio stocks like Samsung Biologics (52.0057 trillion KRW) and Celltrion (41.089 trillion KRW), SK Biopharm's growth prospects are bright, so its market capitalization is likely to increase further. The trading volume at the same time was only 565,791 shares. Although the available circulating shares on the listing day exceeded 10.22 million shares, it is analyzed that many investors are waiting to realize profits after observing the stock price rise.
Researcher Han Byung-hwa of Eugene Investment & Securities explained, "SK Biopharm is expected to start direct sales of Xcopri in the U.S. this year, with sales growing at an average annual rate of about 45% until 2030." He added, "Sales are projected to increase from 46 billion KRW this year to 629.4 billion KRW in 2024 and 1.8 trillion KRW in 2030, while operating profit is expected to turn from a loss of 19.72 billion KRW this year to a profit of 18.5 billion KRW in 2023 and 838.8 billion KRW in 2030."
Cho Jung-woo, CEO of SK Biopharm, said, "SK Biopharm has continuously walked an uncharted path and will continue to pioneer ahead." He added, "We will focus all our new drug development capabilities and continuously invest in research and development (R&D) and open innovation to further expand our pipeline."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
