[Special Stock] Were Expectations for Stablecoin Overblown?... Kakao Pay Drops Over 7%

Shinhan Investment & Securities Downgrades Investment Rating to "Neutral"

Kakao Pay, whose stock price has surged since last month on expectations surrounding its stablecoin business, is now undergoing a correction due to concerns over overshooting (a rapid short-term rise).

As of 9:38 a.m. on July 17, Kakao Pay was trading at 62,100 won, down 5,200 won (7.73%) from the previous trading day. Compared to its intraday high of 114,000 won recorded on June 25, the stock has fallen by approximately 45.5%.

On this day, Shinhan Investment & Securities downgraded its investment rating on Kakao Pay from "Buy" to "Neutral," stating that "the stock is in an overshooting phase and a re-examination of its valuation (stock price relative to corporate value) is necessary."

Lim Heeyeon, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, commented, "Although the second quarter results are solid, there is a significant gap between the stock price and the fundamentals. The volatility in the stock price is inevitable, as expectations related to the stablecoin business have already been reflected."

She further analyzed, "Even if we factor in the expectations for the stablecoin business and the valuation premium from the securities division turning profitable, the appropriate corporate value is 6.3 trillion won (appropriate stock price: 48,171 won). Even considering the rapid growth of stablecoin payments, the appropriate corporate value is estimated at 7.6 trillion won (appropriate stock price: 57,334 won)."

She added, "It appears that excessive expectations have already been reflected in the stock price. Since stablecoin-related legislation is still in its early stages and there are no concrete regulatory guidelines, it is difficult at this point to make a specific judgment on whether market expectations are justified."

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