CJ ENM Soars Riding 'TVING'

New Record High Settles in the 180,000 KRW Range
Institutional Buying Also Drives Stock Price Strength

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] CJ ENM has continued its strong rally, settling in the 180,000 KRW range for the first time in two years. Institutional buying has driven the stock price higher amid growing expectations for earnings following the visible growth of TVING.

On the 24th, CJ ENM hit a 52-week high early in the trading session. The stock rose to 189,000 KRW during the day, breaking the 52-week high set just a day earlier. CJ ENM closed the previous day up 5.43% at 184,600 KRW. This is the first time since June 2019 that CJ ENM’s closing price has reached the 180,000 KRW level. The stock has risen 11.68% so far this month through the previous day.

Institutional buying has continued, driving the stock’s strength. Institutions have net purchased CJ ENM for 12 consecutive trading days recently. In this month alone, institutions have bought CJ ENM shares worth 79.712 billion KRW.

The earnings expectations driven by the visible growth of TVING appear to be the main catalyst for the stock price increase. According to CJ ENM’s announcement at the end of May, since TVING’s launch in October last year, the cumulative number of paid subscribers has increased by 63%. The app’s new installation rate reached 67%, and monthly UV (Unique Visitors, customers who visited at least once) increased by 41%. Hyungmin Park, a researcher at Cape Investment & Securities, said, “The core of CJ ENM’s earnings lies in the growth of digital and TVING,” adding, “Starting this year, CJ ENM announced a plan to invest 400 billion KRW in content for TVING over three years, and accordingly, the growth rate of TVING’s paid subscribers will be key to CJ ENM’s profitability and stock price direction.” Park also noted, “As we move into the second half of the year, a stepped increase in content investment is expected, and it is a time to pay attention to the trend of paid subscriber growth.”

Second-quarter earnings are expected to be solid. DB Financial Investment estimates that CJ ENM will record sales of 973 billion KRW and operating profit of 80.2 billion KRW in the second quarter. These figures represent increases of 16.2% and 9.2%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Eunjung Shin, a researcher at DB Financial Investment, said, “With the disclosure of TVING’s growth indicators and earnings, much of the uncertainty regarding the 400 billion KRW investment over three years has been resolved,” adding, “As TVING’s subscriber growth and overall media sales growth continue to be confirmed, the stock price’s upward trend is also likely to continue.”

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