Kakao Enters Top 10 Market Cap Amid Foreign Investors' Love Calls

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Kakao has risen strongly, breaking its 52-week high day after day, and has entered the top 10 in market capitalization. While foreign investors have continued to sell in the domestic stock market, they have been continuously buying Kakao, driving Kakao into the top 10 in market cap rankings.

As of 9:50 a.m. on the 14th, Kakao recorded 219,500 KRW, up 1.39% (3,000 KRW) from the previous day. During the session, it rose to 220,000 KRW, marking a 52-week high. Although Kakao started the day weak, it soon turned to an upward trend. It has continued its rising trend since the beginning of this month.

With the sustained stock price increase, market capitalization has also continued to grow. According to the Korea Exchange, Kakao's market cap based on the previous day's closing price reached 18.8505 trillion KRW, placing it 10th (excluding preferred shares). At the end of last year, Kakao's market cap was 13.2338 trillion KRW, ranking 22nd, rising to 16th at the end of February, and 14th at the end of last month.

As the non-face-to-face (untact) culture expanded due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Kakao was considered a beneficiary stock and showed strength in the rebound market. Especially after announcing solid first-quarter earnings this year, the upward momentum gained further traction. Kakao has risen 35.74% over the past month.

Kakao's strength has been driven by foreign investors. Foreigners have net purchased Kakao every single day this month without exception. The net purchase amount by foreigners for Kakao this month was 205.8 billion KRW, the largest among stocks.

Kakao's strong performance is expected to continue for the time being. After Kakao's first-quarter earnings announcement, securities firms have successively raised their target prices for Kakao. NH Investment & Securities raised its target from 225,000 KRW to 270,000 KRW, Shinhan Financial Investment from 200,000 KRW to 235,000 KRW, DB Financial Investment from 210,000 KRW to 250,000 KRW, SK Securities from 212,000 KRW to 240,000 KRW, and Daishin Securities from 220,000 KRW to 260,000 KRW. Minah Lee, a researcher at Daishin Securities, said, "It is still too early to discuss the peak as it is a stepwise earnings growth phase," adding, "Since the value of all major businesses is rising, we believe there is still sufficient upside in valuation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.