NHN worth a record $7.5 billion as shares soar

NHN Corp.’s market value surpassed 7 trillion won ($7.5 billion) for the first time yesterday after analysts predicted the biggest Internet company in Korea will report a healthy first-quarter profit.
The value of NHN’s common stock rose to about 7.2 trillion won after its share price jumped 3.9 percent to close at a record high of 150,600 won on the same day.
NHN, the operator of Korea’s most visited Internet portal and search engine, matched Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co., the world’s third-largest shipbuilder, in market capitalization.
Investors scooped up NHN shares on anticipation of improved earnings during the first quarter, analysts said.
“NHN’s first quarter earnings may exceed forecasts thanks to rising revenues from search-based ads, online games and electronic commerce,” said Park Jae-seok at Samsung Securities.
Park raised NHN’s six-month target price to 175,000 won from 152,000 won. Woori Investment and Securities Co. analyst Lee Wang-sang also raised the share price to 170,000 won from 157,000 won. According to a poll of 17 brokers taken by private stock information provider FnGuide Inc., NHN is expected to post 56.3 billion won in net profit for the first quarter on sales of 187.8 billion won.