[Weekly HOT Stocks] YG Entertainment, Stock 'UP' on Expectations for Artist Activities

Stock Price Rises Over 10% in 5 Trading Days... Target Price Upgraded

'BLACKPINK' under YG Entertainment (Photo by YG Entertainment Official Website)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] YG Entertainment (YG Enter) attracted investors' attention throughout the week, not only by posting better-than-expected results in the second quarter but also due to the anticipation surrounding its artists' activities.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 15th, YG Enter's stock price closed at 48,500 KRW. Compared to the price of 43,950 KRW on the 7th, it rose 10.35% over five trading days.

YG Enter showed better-than-expected performance in the second quarter. Operating profit for Q2 this year was 1.791 billion KRW, down 10.6% from the previous year. Revenue recorded 55.153 billion KRW, a 27.1% decrease. Net profit turned positive at 7.517 billion KRW.

Additional settlements from BLACKPINK and iKON's Japan concert tours, advertising revenue in China from G-Dragon and Lisa, and strong sales from the subsidiary's golf reservation business were reflected in the Q2 results. Park Seongho, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, explained, "Royalty revenue, previously expected to be zero, was confirmed at 4.8 billion KRW, enabling profitability. The royalty revenue arose from additional settlements related to BLACKPINK and iKON's Japan tours."

The third quarter is expected to record the highest album sales ever with BLACKPINK's comeback and TREASURE's debut. According to KTB Investment & Securities, BLACKPINK's albums, including the one released on June 26, the single album scheduled for the 28th, and the full album to be released in October, are expected to total around 1.05 million copies.

Nam Hyoji, a researcher at KTB Investment & Securities, analyzed, "TREASURE's debut album pre-orders reached 200,000 copies, and total sales are conservatively estimated at around 300,000 copies. Despite the group still being relatively unknown, it recorded the highest pre-order volume ever. By region, sales were highest overseas in Japan, China, and Korea, in that order, implying that once full-scale activities begin, overseas fandom will rapidly increase, leading to sharp growth in concert and royalty revenues."

Brokerages have raised their target prices for YG Enter. NH Investment & Securities raised it from 48,000 KRW to 55,000 KRW, Mirae Asset Daewoo from 36,000 KRW to 51,000 KRW, and KTB Investment & Securities from 40,000 KRW to 54,000 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.