Competition for Fifth-Largest Market Cap Heats Up in KOSDAQ Following KOSPI

Fifth Place Changes Hands for Four Consecutive Days
Ecopro Reclaims Fourth Place in Just One Day
Peptron Jumps from Ninth to Fifth Since Early This Month
Rainbow Robotics, Strong at the Start of the Year, Now Stalls

While competition for the fifth-largest market capitalization position is fierce in the KOSPI market, the race for the fifth spot in the KOSDAQ market is also intensifying, with the titleholder changing almost daily.

According to the Korea Exchange on May 29, Ecopro surged by more than 6% the previous day, reclaiming the fourth spot in just one day. As a result, the company holding the fifth-largest market capitalization in the KOSDAQ market has changed for four consecutive days. On May 26, Peptron overtook Rainbow Robotics to rise to fifth place, and on May 27, Peptron even surpassed Ecopro to claim fourth place. However, just one day later, Ecopro regained its position, pushing Peptron back to fifth.

The previous day, Ecopro closed at 40,900 won, up 6.65%, with a market capitalization of 5.5532 trillion won. Peptron fell by 2.83% to a market capitalization of 5.2069 trillion won, while Rainbow Robotics rose by 0.19% to finish with a market capitalization of 5.1798 trillion won. The gap between the fourth and sixth spots remains narrow.

Peptron, which was ranked ninth at the beginning of the month, quickly overtook Hugel, Classys, and PharmaResearch on May 13 to climb to sixth place. Peptron's share price, which was in the 170,000 won range at the start of the month, rose to the 220,000 won range. Lee Jisoo, a researcher at Daol Investment & Securities, explained, "Peptron is developing a pipeline for various indications, including Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, prostate cancer, and obesity/diabetes treatments, based on its long-acting injectable technology, SmartDepot." She added, "Expectations for technology transfer agreements with big pharma remain valid." Previously, in October last year, Peptron signed a technology evaluation agreement with Eli Lilly. Lee further stated, "The two companies have formed a joint research committee to evaluate the potential of applying SmartDepot to Eli Lilly's peptide-based drugs for long-acting formulations. Given Eli Lilly's active pursuit of next-generation formulation technologies, if this technology evaluation yields positive results, it is highly likely to lead to a technology transfer agreement."

Rainbow Robotics, which started the year with its stock price hitting the upper limit after becoming a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, saw its share price surpass 400,000 won in February, showing strong momentum. However, since mid-March, its share price has stagnated. So far this month, it has declined by 1.29%. Choi Seunghwan, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, commented, "After the change of largest shareholder to Samsung Electronics at the beginning of the year, the share price rose by up to 157%. Although the current price has adjusted from its peak, its market capitalization remains above 5 trillion won, making it a top-tier company in the robotics sector." He added, "With industrial and service robot demand surging, Rainbow Robotics is expected to benefit due to its high degree of technological independence in robot hardware and its unique capability in humanoid development, making it an irreplaceable company." He continued, "In addition to its value as an acquisition target, Rainbow Robotics has strategic value from potential business synergies with its major shareholder Samsung Electronics, so the market value assigned to the company can be justified depending on future business performance."

Although Ecopro reclaimed the fourth spot in just one day, it remains to be seen whether it can maintain its position. This is because, although concerns over the reduction of tax credits under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the electric vehicle chasm (temporary demand stagnation) have already been reflected in the share price, the overall industry environment remains challenging. The previous day, shares of secondary battery companies such as Ecopro rose together after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced his intention to focus on management.