[Click e-Stock] "SOOP, Valuation Undervalued Relative to Performance"

On April 30, Korea Investment & Securities recommended taking a long-term buying opportunity in SOOP, stating that the current valuation (stock price relative to corporate value) appears somewhat undervalued given the company's stable performance and overseas business expansion. The firm maintained its target price at 145,000 won and its investment rating at 'Buy'.

In the first quarter, SOOP recorded an operating profit of 32.7 billion won (up 14.8% year-on-year), slightly exceeding the market consensus of 30.3 billion won. Revenue came in at 107.6 billion won (up 14.1% year-on-year). While advertising revenue (21.9 billion won) fell by 21.5% compared to the previous quarter, platform revenue (84.9 billion won) increased by about 3%.

Jung Hoyoon, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, explained the strong results, saying, "Although the fourth-quarter peak season effect was absent, the activation of e-sports league production led to brand content advertising revenue exceeding our estimates. The decline in advertising revenue also reduced related operating expenses, and costs associated with events such as last year's fourth-quarter award ceremonies decreased."

Jung highlighted SOOP's attractive valuation. He stated, "Although there are market concerns about the decline in MUV (Monthly Active Users), both PU (Paying Users) and ARPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User) remain robust, supporting continued growth in platform revenue. Given the company's stable domestic performance and the emergence of new growth opportunities overseas, a PER (Price-to-Earnings Ratio) of 8 times represents a somewhat undervalued valuation in the current environment."

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