Naver Hits All-Time High... Regains 4th Place in Market Capitalization

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Naver (NAVER) surged sharply due to foreign buying, reclaiming its position as the 4th largest company by market capitalization.

As of 10:46 a.m. on the 22nd, Naver was trading at 378,000 KRW, up 25,500 KRW (7.91%) from the previous day. This marks a significant rise for two consecutive days. The previous day, it rose 4.71%, reaching the 320,000 KRW level for the first time this year based on closing price. On this day, Naver also broke its all-time high of 347,000 KRW recorded at the end of August last year.

Foreign buying led the stock price increase. On the previous day, foreigners purchased Naver shares worth 146.4 billion KRW, making it the most net-bought stock. Since the beginning of this year, foreigners have bought Naver shares worth 400 billion KRW, ranking it 3rd in net purchases.

The rise in stock price also improved its market cap ranking. After rising to 5th place the previous day, Naver climbed to 4th place in the morning session. A year ago, Naver was ranked 3rd in market capitalization but had fallen to 6th recently, trailing LG Chem, Samsung Biologics, Hyundai Motor, and others. On the 20th, it even dropped to 7th place behind Samsung SDI. However, after two days of gains, Naver’s market cap rose to the 56 trillion KRW range, regaining the 4th position.

The acquisition of Wattpad is interpreted as having a positive impact on the stock price. On the 20th, Naver announced it would acquire Wattpad, the world’s largest web novel platform, for 660 billion KRW. Wattpad has over 90 million monthly users who spend 23 billion minutes on the platform, making it the largest in the world. Samsung Securities analyst Oh Donghwan said, "The mid- to long-term competitiveness enhancement effect of the global content business through the Wattpad acquisition could offset the acquisition cost," adding, "This year, along with commerce, the performance of the global content sector will drive Naver’s stock price rise."

With Naver’s stock price increase, competition for 4th and 5th place in market capitalization is expected to intensify. Based on the previous day’s closing price, the market cap gap between Samsung Biologics and Naver was about 300 billion KRW, but with today’s rise, the gap widened to the 4 trillion KRW level. Meanwhile, Naver is competing with Hyundai Motor, which has established itself as a leading stock amid expectations for Apple Car, with a difference of around 1 trillion KRW.