Space Company Bought by Individual Investors for 100 Billion Won Triples in Value One Month After Listing

Nara Space: Small Satellite Design, Manufacturing, Operation, and Analysis Services
Selected for National Project on 'Development of Space Semiconductor Verification Payload'

Nara Space Technology, which was listed on the KOSDAQ market last month, saw its market capitalization more than triple within just one month. The company's unique business model, which covers both the development and operation of small satellites, is receiving positive evaluations in the stock market.

According to the financial investment industry on January 22, Nara Space was listed on the KOSDAQ market on December 17 last year with a public offering price of 16,500 won, and closed at 53,100 won the previous day. In just over a month, the stock price rose by 221.8%. Based on the public offering price, the market capitalization grew from 190 billion won to 613 billion won.

During this period, domestic institutional investors recorded a cumulative net sell of 46.3 billion won, while individual investors purchased 104.3 billion won worth of shares. The average purchase price for individual investors was 38,400 won, resulting in an average return of 38%.

Nara Space is drawing attention recently for having secured technological capabilities across the entire small satellite business spectrum. While most domestic aerospace companies focus on either satellite manufacturing and operation (upstream) or image data sales and analysis (downstream), Nara Space provides services ranging from satellite manufacturing and operation to analysis.

Jung Jisoo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, stated, "The small satellite platform business offers turnkey services centered on satellite body development and payload integration," adding, "Customers can address everything from satellite manufacturing and launch to operation and data utilization in one place."

He further explained, "We offer not only a selection of small satellite platforms in various sizes from 6U to 16U, but also custom services that apply a range of payloads such as optical and communication equipment according to customer needs."

The fact that the company has a 'track record proven in space' has also been a driving force behind the recent stock price increase. On November 12, 2023, Nara Space successfully launched and communicated with its self-developed small satellite 'Observer-1A.' In the space industry, reliability cannot be fully guaranteed through ground testing alone, and whether a satellite operates normally in actual orbit serves as a benchmark for technological capability and stability.

The company's selection for a recent government research project has also fueled growth expectations. Nara Space was chosen as the executing institution for the "Space Semiconductor Verification Payload Development and Demonstration Small Satellite Design Service" under the Space Aviation Semiconductor Strategic Research Group of the Ministry of Science and ICT's Global Top Strategic Research Group. The goal is to verify the reliability and space environment adaptability of domestically produced space semiconductors in actual space. Nara Space will develop both the verification payload and the satellite body to carry it, then proceed with launch and orbital insertion, collect long-term data, and conduct reliability verification. The securities industry assessed this as an example demonstrating that Nara Space is a company capable of providing "demonstration infrastructure," going beyond simple research and development contracts.