[Market Focus] Korea Carbon Surges Over 9% on US Entry Momentum...Hits Record High

Korea Carbon surged on expectations of entering the US market, hitting a new 52-week high during intraday trading.

As of 9:16 a.m. on September 3, Korea Carbon was trading at 34,850 won, up 3,050 won (9.59%) from the previous day. This marks a new 52-week high.

Investor optimism over growth driven by orders for North American liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGCs) appears to have boosted the stock price. On this day, SK Securities raised its target price for Korea Carbon from 41,000 won to 44,000 won, stating that the company is expected to secure long-term growth momentum through North American LNGC orders following its business structure improvement.

Han Seunghan, a researcher at SK Securities, explained, "We have revised up our earnings estimates as Korea Carbon is expected to continue improving its profitability through business structure enhancement resulting from synergy with Korea New Materials," adding, "We anticipate multiple expansion driven by several factors, including an increase in order backlog from large-scale North American LNGC orders, expectations for increased volume previously limited to domestic shipbuilders, and optimism over entering the US market. Therefore, we believe this is a preemptive buying opportunity ahead of these catalysts."