Celltrion stocks surge, boosted by $70 mn share buyback plan

(Celltrion)

Celltrion Inc. shares rose more than 2 percent on Thursday morning after the company announced a significant share buyback plan.

Celltrion shares were trading at 174,900 won ($125.02) as of 9:14 a.m., up 2.04 percent from the previous day’s close. The stock climbed as high as 176,200 won earlier in the session, a 2.8 percent increase.

Celltrion announced it will repurchase 583,431 shares over the next three months, starting Friday, with the buyback valued at approximately 100 billion won based on Wednesday’s closing price of 171,400 won. The company explained that despite its global growth, driven by flagship products and new product approvals, its valuation remains undervalued, prompting the decision to boost shareholder confidence through the repurchase.

Meanwhile, Hyosung Chemical Corp. shares dropped 3.15 percent to 30,700 won as of 9:03 a.m., dipping to 30,050 won earlier in the session, a new 52-week low.

The decline followed Wednesday’s announcement that the company had withdrawn its selection of the consortium led by STIC Investments Inc. and IMM Private Equity Inc. as the preferred bidder for its specialty gas business. Hyosung Chemical cited an inability to reach mutual agreement on the sale terms and said it is now seeking alternative investors.

The sale process had stalled when the consortium reportedly demanded a price reduction below 1 trillion won during due diligence. Investor sentiment was further dampened after Korea Investors Service downgraded Hyosung Chemical’s credit rating outlook to “negative” from “stable,” citing rising debt and prolonged losses, while maintaining the company‘s BBB+ rating for unsecured bonds.

In the semiconductor sector, Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. stocks showed resilience on Thursday despite a decline in Nvidia Corp.’s stock following its third-quarter earnings report.

Samsung Electronics shares were trading flat at 55,300 won as of 9:41 a.m., having recovered from an earlier dip of 1.08 percent to 54,700 won. SK hynix shares rose 0.59 percent to 171,500 won, rebounding from a 1.41 percent decline at the start of trading and reaching as high as 173,000 won during the session.

Nvidia reported third-quarter revenue of $35.08 billion and earnings per share of $0.81 on Wednesday, exceeding Wall Street expectations but falling short of heightened market forecasts. Its stock dropped nearly 2 percent in after-hours trading, following a 0.76 percent decline during regular trading.

Markets have been closely monitoring Nvidia’s performance to assess its potential to reignite the rally in AI-related semiconductor stocks, amid a potential resurgence in U.S.-China trade tensions and heightened protectionism under a possible second Trump administration.