Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast Auto saw its stock surge 35% in midday trading on Monday, reaching a new all-time high of $93 and pushing its market value to around $216 billion. VinFast closed up 19.75% at $82.35, marking its sixth consecutive trading day of gains and surpassing a market value of $190 billion.
VinFast's skyrocketing valuation has left many established companies in the dust. VinFast's market value now exceeds that of half of the companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. By comparison, Boeing has a market value of approximately $140 billion, while Goldman Sachs has a market value of around $107 billion. VinFast's rapid ascent to a $200 billion market value also outpaces the two hottest stocks in the U.S. market, Tesla and Nvidia. Tesla took 3,600 trading days to reach a $200 billion market value, while the AI darling Nvidia took over 7,700 trading days.
On August 15, VinFast completed its merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Black Spade Acquisition and began trading on the Nasdaq. Its stock soared that day, reaching a high of $38.78 and closing at $37.06, a gain of 254.64%.
In the following trading days, VinFast's stock price experienced a wild roller-coaster ride.<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/8b20b29c-944d-462d-bb69-ec55d14dcee3.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/8b20b29c-944d-462d-bb69-ec55d14dcee3.png"/>
In fact, the significant fluctuations in VinFast's stock price were to be expected. Pham Nhat Vuong, Chairman and Founder of VinFast and Vietnam's richest person, controls 99% of VinFast's stock through his conglomerate Vingroup JSC, leaving only a small portion of shares available for other investors to trade. This means that even relatively small trades can have a significant impact on the stock price.
According to data from Vanda Research cited by the media, retail investors' interest in VinFast has been on the rise since last week. Retail investors' enthusiasm has previously helped drive up the stock prices of similar electric vehicle companies such as Nikola and Rivian.
Trading of options on VinFast's stock began on Monday, giving traders the opportunity to make leveraged bets on its rise. In the options market, the most active trading was seen in the $100 call options expiring on September 15 for VinFast Auto Ltd.
The speculation surrounding VinFast's stock comes at a time when the overall trend in the U.S. stock market is cooling off, indicating that the market frenzy has not completely subsided and there is still a significant amount of froth. Some analysts point out that the S&amp;P 500 index has only fallen about 4% from its summer high and has not triggered much investor fear. The index would need to decline by around 10% to bring true fear back into the market.
VinFast was established in 2017 as a subsidiary of Vingroup, one of Vietnam's largest listed companies. From the beginning, VinFast carried the hope of the Vietnamese national automobile industry, with Pham Nhat Vuong even setting Tesla as its benchmark. However, the company's performance has been mediocre so far. According to the data disclosed in the prospectus, while the company's revenue has declined recently, the scale of losses continues to expand. In addition, VinFast is also facing negative product reviews and operational challenges.
To date, VinFast has exported approximately 2,100 electric vehicles to the United States and nearly 800 electric vehicles to Canada, but its expected sales volume this year is less than General Motors' weekly sales.
Shorting VinFast seems logical, but analysts have previously warned that this is a risky attempt. Shorting stocks with low liquidity sometimes requires paying interest rates exceeding 100% on an annualized basis.

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Compared to VinFast, Boeing has a market value of about $140 billion, while Goldman Sachs has a market value of about $107 billion. VinFast's market value has surpassed $200 billion at a rapid pace, far exceeding the two popular stocks in the US stock market, Tesla and Nvidia. It took Tesla 3,600 trading days to reach this market value, while Nvidia took 7,700 trading days. The scarcity of circulating shares and the frenzy of retail investors are the reasons behind the abnormal movement in VinFast's stock price.

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"Vietnam's Tesla" soared 35% in intraday trading, with a market value surpassing $210 billion, equivalent to two Goldman Sachs.