Little-known pharmaceutical company becomes the 3rd largest company by market capitalization in Korea

With a market capitalization of 37 trillion won, Celltrion is second only to mobile phone giant Samsung Electronics in 1st place and chip maker SK Hynix in 2nd place.

The stock market greeted 2018 with a bang, but none bigger than South Korean drugmaker Celltrion, whose market capitalization increased by 9 trillion won ($8.4 billion) in just seven days. .

Celltrion is a small pharmaceutical company based in Incheon, specializing in the production of drugs that have expired patents. The stock price rally has led Celltrion to overtake Hyundai Motor Co. – Korea’s largest car manufacturer to become the 3rd largest company on the Korean stock exchange. With a market capitalization of 37 trillion won, Celltrion is just behind mobile phone giant Samsung Electronics at No. 1 and chip maker SK Hynix at No. 2.

In fact, SK Hynix’s market capitalization of 53,000 won is equivalent to the total value of Celltrion and its two subsidiaries Celltrion Healthcare and Celltrion Pharm.

There are several reasons behind Celltrion’s strong bullish momentum. Last year, the company launched a blood cancer treatment product in Europe that was highly appreciated by analysts. Besides, the rumour that Korea is expected to promote investment in Kosdaq – the small-cap market in which Celltrion is listed – also created positive momentum for Celltrion’s stock.

After more than doubling last year, Celltrion stock entered 2018 still growing fairly steadily.

“For a long time, this stock has become a target for short-sellers who doubt the company’s business. But the buying force is still able to support the selling force,” said Han Byung-Hwa, an expert. Analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities in Seoul commented