Visual effects company M83 stock soars on first day of Kosdaq debut

[Photo provided by KRX]

South Korea’s visual effects (VFX) company M83 saw its stock price surge nearly 200 percent on the first day of its debut on the secondary Kosdaq market on Thursday.

Shares of M83 were trading at 45,750 won ($34.2) as of 11:04 a.m., up 185.94 percent from its offering price of 16,000 won.

Founded in February 2020, M83 has worked as the main VFX studio on films such as “Noryang: Deadly Sea,” “Hansan: Rising Dragon,” and “Space Sweepers,” as well as the dramas “Vincenzo” and “Sweet Home 2.”

The company boasts a large research and development (R&D) team capable of handling highly technical projects involving water, ocean, creature, and architecture simulations.

M83 posted consolidated sales of 42.1 billion won in 2023 and an operating profit of 4.4 billion won.

The competition ratio during the company’s bookbuilding session stood at 1,024.72 to 1. The offering price was set above the desired price range of between 11,000 won and 13,000 won.

The competition ratio during the public subscription period was 638.05 to 1, attracting approximately 1.91 trillion won in deposits.

Shares of Lunit Inc., a medical artificial intelligence (AI) company, also surged in early trading on Thursday following the news that its subsidiary won a contract to supply software to a U.S. healthcare system.

The stock was trading at 47,750 won as of 11:06 a.m., up 11.18 percent from the previous session. It jumped as much as 16 percent shortly after the opening bell.

Lunit announced on the previous day that its subsidiary Volpara Health Technologies Ltd., which it acquired in May 2024, has signed a contract to supply breast cancer screening software to Intermountain Health, a major not-for-profit healthcare system in the western United States.

Korean game companies also saw their shares rise on Thursday after unveiling new titles at Gamescom 2024, a global gaming exhibition in Germany.

Krafton Inc. shares were trading at 340,500 won as of 11:07 a.m., up 70.29 percent from the previous day.

The stock earlier rose as much as 4.57 percent to hit a new 52-week high of 355,000 won.

Pearl Abyss Corp. also saw its shares rise 3.84 percent percent to 41,950 won.

The stock climbed as much as 8.29 percent to 43,750 won at one point during the session.

Kakao Games Corp. shares were also up 6.67 percent from the previous day to trade at 18,380 won.