HPSP stock surges nearly 12% after favorable patent ruling

HPSP CI

HPSP Co., a South Korean semiconductor equipment company, saw its stock price surge by nearly 12 percent on Friday morning, following a favorable patent ruling against YEST Corp.

HPSP shares were trading at 34,300 won ($24.9) on the secondary Kosdaq market as of 11:10 a.m. on Friday, up 11.54 percent from the previous session.

The stock soared as high as 17.07 percent to 36,000 won earlier.

The gain comes after the Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB) ruled in favor of HPSP in a patent invalidation lawsuit filed by YEST on Thursday.

YEST shares, on the other hand, plunged by 29.97 percent to 13,900 won as of 11:10 a.m.

The IPTAB also dismissed all three additional claims for confirmation of rights scope filed by YEST.

“The primary concern over HPSP has been the potential erosion of its monopoly position,” said Ryu Hyung-keun, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co. “This result has increased the likelihood of HPSP maintaining its monopoly until 2026.”

Kumyang Co., in the meantime, saw its stock surge on Friday morning on news that Chairman Ryu Kwang-jy will donate more than 400 billion won worth of shares to the company for free.

The stock was trading at 43,900 won, up 5.78 percent from the previous close.

The company announced on Thursday that Ryu, the largest shareholder, will donate 10 million shares, valued at approximately 415 billion won based on the previous day’s closing price.

Kumyang also decided on a 300 billion won capital increase through a third-party allocation, which includes issuing 5,917,159 new shares at 50,700 won each to Ryu, KJ International, and KY Eco.

This conversion of Ryu’s short-term loan to the company into equity is expected to reduce Kumyang’s debt ratio, which stood at 430 percent as of the first half of this year.

Kumyang noted that the move reflects the chairman‘s commitment to responsible management and is aimed at maximizing shareholder value.

Kumyang was designated as an unfaithful disclosure corporation on October 28 and was fined 200 million won with a 10-point penalty, leading to a one-day trading suspension on October 29.

The decision came after a controversy erupted over a memorandum of understanding the company signed in May last year to acquire a stake in Mongolian mine developer Monlaa LLC.

Kumyang was embroiled in controversy for inflating earnings estimates for the Mongolian mines.