SHARES of Kweichow Moutai, China’s leading liquor brand, opened at a record high of 900 yuan (US$133.93) yesterday.

The company’s shares surged 4.07 percent to close at 900.20 yuan in Shanghai trading, bringing its total capitalization to surpass one trillion yuan. Moutai jumped to hit an intraday high of 908 yuan, an all-time high for the firm.

The strong performance of Moutai shares came after it reported a strong profit growth in the first quarter this year.

Moutai’s net profits in the first quarter of 2019 rose to 11 billion yuan. Its sales revenues during the period reached 25.7 billion yuan, up 21 percent year on year, the company said Friday.

In 2018, Moutai saw its output reach around 70,200 tons, with sales revenues reaching 73.6 billion yuan and net profit 35.2 billion yuan, up 26.49 and 30 percent year on year respectively.

Moutai looks like it could be China’s first ever 1,000-yuan stock, with analysts at Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Group, Citic Securities and China Securities Finance Corp. all having a target price of at least 1,000 yuan for the firm. (SD-Agencies)