Shares in Bloomberry Resorts Corp were among the most heavily traded of all on the Philippine Stock Exchange last week, with foreign buying particularly high on positive sentiment ahead of the opening of Quezon City’s Solaire Resort North in the coming months.
According to local business media outlet BusinessWorld, a total of Php654.6 million (US$11.6 million) worth of Bloomberry shares exchanged hands between 22 and 26 January, pushing the stock price up 8.7% to Php10.98. Bloomberry shares are now up 11.6% in 2024, the outlet added.
There was also particularly strong foreign interest in Bloomberry shares, with net foreign buying in four out of five trading sessions amounting to Php269.32 million (US$4.8 million).
“While there appears to be no material news flows on Bloomberry last week, we think the stock’s positive price action can be partly attributed to strong foreign interest, as net foreign buying this week amounted to Php269 million,” said Rastine Mackie D. Mercado, research director at China Bank Securities Corp, noting that the opening of Solaire Resort North appeared to be the catalyst.
Mercantile Securities Corp analyst Jeff Radley C. See added, “Investors are … anticipating the opening of Solaire Resort North this coming March 2024 that would help push revenue upwards for Bloomberry.
“We think that Bloomberry might hit Php50 billion for the end of 2023.”
Solaire Resort North is currently scheduled to open early in 2Q23, having faced a series of delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bloomberry Chairman and CEO Enrique K. Razon Jr previously described the new property as “an upscale mass-focused offering that, together with Solaire and the revamped Solaire Club, will profoundly expand our gaming footprint to take advantage of what we anticipate to be burgeoning post-pandemic domestic mass and regional premium mass demand.”
The new IR will be its second in the Philippines following on from current market leader Solaire Resort Entertainment City, opened in 2013.
