[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun ] #SamsungE&A is trading up more than 6% in early trading on the 23rd, buoyed by its surprise third-quarter earnings and the announcement of a large-scale share buyback. The fact that securities firms have been raising their target prices one after another, thereby stimulating investor sentiment, is also seen as supporting the stock price.

According to MP Doctor on the 23rd, as of 9:15 a.m. that day, SamsungE&A was trading at 59,000 won, up 3,600 won (6.50%) from the previous trading day. Following a 16.14% surge the previous day, the stock is continuing its upward trend for the second consecutive day.

SamsungE&A’s stock price rise is attributed to a combination of earnings that significantly exceeded market expectations and a large-scale shareholder return plan. SamsungE&A’s consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of this year was 500.6 billion won, an increase of 183.5% compared to the same period last year. This figure exceeded the market forecast of 248.9 billion won by 101.1%. The operating profit margin also reached 17.2%.

SamsungE&A also announced a plan to repurchase approximately 780 billion won worth of its own shares. Of this amount, the company plans to cancel approximately 690 billion won worth of shares. Based on the closing price on the 22nd, this represents about 6.4% of the total issued shares.

Securities firms are also unanimously raising their expectations. Of the 15 securities firms that published reports on SamsungE&A today, 14 raised their target prices.

NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES raised its target price from 80,000 won to 86,000 won. Lee Eun-sang, an analyst at NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, stated, “As the expansion of semiconductor factories gains momentum, order opportunities in the chemical engineering sector are also coming to the fore following the war,” adding, “The expansion of shareholder returns driven by improved earnings is also positive, and we raised the target price to reflect the effect of the share buyback and cancellation.”

SamsungSecurities also raised its target price by 29.7%, from 64,000 won to 83,000 won. Heo Jae-jun, an analyst at SamsungSecurities, analyzed, “Considering the upwardly revised operating profit guidance, we estimate the company will post operating profit of over 430 billion won in the fourth quarter as well,” adding, “The effects of operational innovations—such as design optimization and modularization—are structural factors driving profitability improvement, not one-time factors.”