SM Prime shares rise after $350-million dollar bond issuance

SM PRIME HOLDINGS, INC. (SMPH) saw its shares rise week on week after completing a $350-million dollar-denominated bond issuance to fund mall redevelopment and expansion.

- Heather Caitlin P. Mafiago

The Sy-led property developer was the ninth most actively traded stock last week, with 28.46 million shares worth P674.42 million changing hands from Sept. 8 to 12, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed.

SMPH closed at P23.90 per share, up 3.9% from P23 on Sept. 5, outperforming the property sector’s 1.7% growth and the PSE index’s (PSEi) 0.6% decline.

Year to date, the stock has fallen 5%, lagging behind the property sector’s 5.3% gain but outperforming the PSEi’s 6.4% drop.

Franco Fernandez, equity research analyst at Dragonfi Securities, Inc., attributed the recent rise to “a combination of bargain hunting and selective investor positioning.”

Jervin De Celis, equity trader at The First Resources Management and Securities Corp., said investors have shifted into resilient stocks since the PSEi peaked at 6,547.57 in July.