NCSoft Struggling to Gain Momentum... "Long-Term Investment Points Remain Unchanged"

In October, Individuals Bet on NCSoft Stock Price Increase... Net Purchase of 149 Billion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] The stock price of NCSoft, which once approached 1 million KRW, has been struggling to gain momentum. However, there is an analysis that the investment point remains unchanged in the long term.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 14th, NCSoft closed at 754,000 KRW the previous day.

On July 6, NCSoft's stock price soared to 997,000 KRW during the trading session, nearly reaching 1 million KRW. The closing price on the same day was 995,000 KRW. At that time, the target price even exceeded 1.2 million KRW.

Since then, the stock price has struggled and declined. Over a little more than three months from July 6 to the previous day, the stock price fell by 24.22%. This contrasts sharply with the KOSPI index, which rose 9.84% from 2,187.93 to 2,403.15 during the same period.

One of the recent reasons for the stock price decline is the increased possibility of delays in new game releases. Following the implementation of social distancing level 2.5 due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), NCSoft adopted a rotational work-from-home system for its developers. As a result, the domestic release of 'Blade & Soul 2' and the overseas release schedule of 'Lineage 2M' may be delayed.

Jung Hoyoon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, explained, "Although the specific schedule has not yet been confirmed, considering the possibility of delays, we reflected the release of both titles within the first quarter in our earnings estimates. We believe this delay is not due to development issues but rather the impact of work-from-home due to COVID-19, and the delay period will not be long."

There is an opinion that the long-term investment point remains unchanged. Kim Donghee, a researcher at Meritz Securities, analyzed, "Although the release schedule may be somewhat delayed due to the crunch mode, which is the final stage of game development, next year remains a mega cycle for NCSoft with at least two new titles being released on PC and mobile."

Brokerages have lowered their target prices for NCSoft but still maintain them in the 900,000 to 1,100,000 KRW range. As of the previous day, Hanwha Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities set target prices at 1.1 million KRW each, Meritz Securities at 1.07 million KRW, and Daishin Securities at 950,000 KRW.

Since the beginning of this month, individual investors have been betting on an increase in NCSoft's stock price. From the 1st to the previous day, NCSoft ranked second among the top stocks in net purchases by individual investors. During this period, individual investors net purchased NCSoft shares worth 149 billion KRW.

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