[Click eStock] "NCSoft, Lack of Stock Price Rise Momentum... Target Price Down 13%"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jaehee] Daishin Securities maintained a 'Buy' rating on NCSoft on the 13th but lowered the target price by 13% from the previous level to 580,000 KRW.

NCSoft's first-quarter revenue is forecasted at 729.4 billion KRW, with an operating profit of 185.7 billion KRW. This represents an increase of 42% and 228% respectively compared to the previous year, attributed to the impact of Lineage W, which was launched in November last year.

Lineage W is understood to have a revenue stabilization speed similar to that of Lineage M and 2M. The average revenue of Lineage W in the first quarter of this year is expected to decrease by 35% compared to its launch quarter, estimated at about 4 billion KRW.

Lee Ji-eun, a researcher at Daishin Securities, analyzed, "The revenues of Lineage M and 2M are expected to continue to decline naturally," adding, "Future updates will not be the type that induce spending as NCSoft traditionally did, so a significant revenue rebound is unlikely."

The third quarter is scheduled for the Western release of Lineage W and the global launch of Blade & Soul 2. The researcher judged, "Considering the low IP awareness of Lineage in Western markets and the poor performance of Blade & Soul 2 after its domestic release, expectations for the success of both games are not high."

Nevertheless, marketing expenses are expected to increase due to the overseas releases of the two games. In the fourth quarter, TL (MMORPG) is scheduled to be released on PC and consoles.

The researcher stated, "Since domestic MMORPG IPs have rarely achieved great success upon console release, it is necessary to take a conservative approach until more concrete details about TL's business model and game content, which could raise expectations for its success, are disclosed."

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