[Click eStock] "Pearl Abyss, New Release... Short-Term Stock Price Increase Possible"

Target Price Raised by 16.7%

On the 18th, Samsung Securities evaluated Pearl Abyss, stating that with the upcoming release of the new title Black Clover, a short-term stock price increase is possible. Accordingly, they maintained the investment rating of 'Hold' and raised the target price to 35,000 KRW.

Researcher Odonghwan from Samsung Securities stated, "With the visibility of Black Clover's release, we have upwardly revised daily sales, increasing the 2024 operating profit forecast by 25.5%."

He added, "Since the current stock price is high at a 2024 PER (Price-to-Earnings Ratio) of 26.6 times, it is necessary to approach from a short-term trading perspective."

The first quarter performance carries significant uncertainty. Researcher Oh said, "Due to increased PC sales of Black Desert, first-quarter sales are expected to rise 6.9% year-over-year, but a 5.3% decrease is anticipated compared to the previous quarter due to declines in Black Desert Mobile and Pearl Abyss Capital sales."

Operating profit in the first quarter is expected to show high volatility due to investments by Pearl Abyss Capital. Researcher Oh stated, "First-quarter operating profit is expected to increase to 6.6 billion KRW from 3.4 billion KRW in the fourth quarter of last year."

Additionally, Researcher Oh noted, "The realistic global release schedule for the next in-house developed title, Red Desert, is expected in the first half of next year," adding, "Red Desert's development is progressing simultaneously with the creation of its own game engine, causing repeated delays in the release."

He predicted, "If Red Desert is released in the first half of 2024 and contributes annual sales of 200 billion KRW, the release of game footage in the second half and the clarification of the release date will gradually build momentum for the new title."

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