Shares of The Pinkfong Company (403850.KQ), the studio behind the "Baby Shark" character, rose sharply in morning trading on the 21st. With no clear company-specific news to account for the move, analysts said buying appeared to be driven by a theme trade around the word "shark," after a real shark was spotted at Busan's North Port over the weekend and drew attention online.
The Pinkfong Company was trading at 13,060 won as of 10:36 a.m., up 960 won or 7.93% from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. The stock opened at 12,270 won and climbed as high as 14,280 won intraday, up as much as 18% from the previous session's close.
Buying was relatively concentrated in the stock among character-related names. The Pinkfong Company recorded the highest trading value of any character merchandise stock on the day. Aurora also rose more than 6%, while other names including Devsisters, SAMG Entertainment and Daewon Media were flat or lower.
Market participants said the shark story that spread online over the weekend likely formed a short-term theme, rather than any earnings or business development at the company. A shark was sighted for three consecutive days at a waterfront park at Busan's North Port, drawing crowds, and photos and videos of the animal circulated quickly on social media.
The National Institute of Fisheries Science estimated the animal to be a tawny nurse shark measuring about 3.5 meters. There is no direct link between the sighting and The Pinkfong Company's business, but the episode evoked "Baby Shark," the company's flagship intellectual property, and was consumed as a short-term trading catalyst, analysts said.
The Pinkfong Company operates a character and content IP business centered on "Baby Shark." "The shark sighting being cited as the reason for today's gain is not something directly connected to the company's earnings or business value, so investors need to be mindful of share price volatility driven by short-term theme-based flows," an official in the financial investment industry said.
