[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Naver (NAVER) rose to the 3rd place in KOSPI market capitalization in the early trading session on the 22nd.
As of 9:47 a.m. that day, Naver was trading at 400,000 KRW, up 0.50% from the previous trading day. In the early session, it surged to 405,500 KRW, marking a 52-week high. At the same time, its market capitalization was 65.7053 trillion KRW, surpassing LG Chem (65.4391 trillion KRW) to claim 3rd place in KOSPI.
Naver first reached 3rd place in market capitalization in October 2019 and had been competing back and forth with LG Chem for the 3rd spot, but recently LG Chem had consistently held the position. Recently, Naver's stock price has continued to rise, supported by strong earnings and expectations of corporate value re-evaluation following Coupang's listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
The target stock price has also been raised. Hyundai Motor Securities maintained its 'Buy' rating and target price of 500,000 KRW for Naver. After raising the target price from 450,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW on the 15th, it maintained this on the 19th and recommended Naver as the top preferred stock in the internet sector. Hyundai Motor Securities analyst Kim Hyun-yong explained, "If 2019-2020 was a period when Naver Pay greatly benefited from the rapid increase in Naver Shopping transaction volume, then the full-scale expansion of Plus Membership in the second half of 2020 and the recent allowance of credit payments on Naver Pay are expected to act as mechanisms that stimulate high growth in shopping transaction volume through differentiated financial services," adding, "The two-way synergy between shopping and finance, and finance and shopping, is judged to be the point where Naver is most differentiated from competing online shopping companies."
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