EcoPro BM ascends to No. 1 market cap stock on Kosdaq

Secondary battery materials maker EcoPro BM Co. has become the bellwether of South Korea’s junior stock market Kosdaq after its market capitalization was swelled to 10.05 trillion won ($8.4 billion) on Tuesday, elbowing out former No. 1 market cap company Celltrion Healthcare Co.

Shares of EcoPro BM closed 1.46 percent lower at 431,900 won on Wednesday. It added 0.74 percent to close at 438,300 won on the previous day.

Shares of EcoPro BM have been buoyed by high expectations for the healthy growth of the battery market backed by the burgeoning demand for electric vehicles. Its shares soared 157.67 percent since the end of 2020.

But Celltrion Healthcare fell 1.22 percent to close at 64,600 won on Tuesday, shaving its market cap to 10.01 trillion won, the second largest market value on the Kosdaq market. Celltrion Healthcare shares closed at 66,800 won, up 3.41 percent on Wednesday.

Celltrion Healthcare had maintained its No. 1 position on the Kosdaq market since February 9, 2018, after its parent Celltrion Inc. was moved to the main Kospi bourse. At the time, Celltrion Healthcare’s market cap was 16.4 trillion won.

In 2020, Celltrion Healthcare shares were on a roll as bio stocks in general gained attention after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Celltrion Healthcare’s market cap skyrocketed to 26.9 trillion won in December 2020 thanks to the buzz surrounding Celltrion’s Covid-19 antibody treatment Regkirona (regdanvimab). Celltrion Healthcare is the marketing arm of Celltrion.

But its shares started plummeting after easier-to-take Covid-19 treating pill of Pfizer gained marketing approval.

In November last year, shares of all three Celltrion Group companies – Celltrion, Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm, also tumbled after the Financial Services Commission launched investigation on the group’s alleged window dressing to reduce inventory losses in the accounting books of Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm.

Celltrion trio’s fall also come at a time when Kosdaq investors have shifted their interest from bio stocks to secondary battery stocks and game stocks.

At the end of 2020, bio companies such as Celltrion Healthcare, Celltrion Pharm, Seegene, Alteogen, and HLB were the top 5 best-performing stocks on the Kosdaq market. But gaming companies such as Pearl Abyss, Kakao Games, WeMade and secondary battery companies such as L&F and Chunbo are the top performers now.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]