Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company stock hit its highest price in nearly 10 years at the start of trading on the Saudi stock market on Sunday. If this trend continues until the end of the session, it will be the highest closing price since January 2016, amid optimism about the company’s potential gains from the anticipated initial public offering of SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk.
The stock increased by the maximum limit of 10%, reaching a level of 13.58 riyals, which is almost the highest price since January 10, 2016, when it recorded 14.3 riyals.
Trading volume for the stock was five times its usual average for this time of day. The stock has risen 23% in the past five days following news that SpaceX is targeting a valuation of at least $1.8 trillion in its initial public offering. The stock is up 53% over the past 52 weeks.
Kingdom Holding's stake in SpaceX
Last weekend, Kingdom Holding exclusively revealed to Asharq that its combined stake, along with that of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's private office, in SpaceX amounts to 0.63%. At a valuation of $1.25 trillion, this stake is worth approximately $8.32 billion, rising to $10.55 billion if SpaceX reaches a valuation of $1.75 trillion.
Over the weekend, Bloomberg reported that SpaceX is now targeting a valuation of at least $1.8 trillion, instead of seeking a valuation exceeding $2 trillion.
This is the first time the company, whose board is chaired by Prince Alwaleed, has disclosed these details ahead of the historic offering, indicating significant gains awaiting one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent investors, years after his initial investment in Twitter, which was followed by investments that strengthened his relationship with Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) rose 0.3%. Kingdom Holding's stock is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 48, based on projected earnings per share over the next twelve months, according to Bloomberg data.
