Surging 50%: YG Entertainment Breaks New 52-Week High, Riding the Wave of Entertainment Stocks
Thanks to BLACKPINK, YG Entertainment’s Stock Reaches New 52-Week High
YG Entertainment‘s stock price has been on a soaring trajectory, increasing by 50% over the past three months. The confirmation of the debut of the rookie girl group ‘Baby Monster’ and a surprising first-quarter earnings performance have propelled the stock to reach a new 52-week high on the 12th.
On that day, YG Entertainment’s stock closed at 78,100 won, marking a significant 17.09% increase compared to the previous trading day. Intraday, it even reached a new 52-week high of 79,500 won, rising by 19.19%.
Notably, foreign investors showed prominent buying interest. On that day, foreigners net purchased 551,490 shares (42.3 billion won), while institutions net purchased 46,778 shares (3.2 billion won), and individual investors sold 597,922 shares (42.5 billion won).
The previous day, YG Entertainment disclosed that its operating profit for the first quarter, based on consolidated standards, amounted to 36.5 billion won, a remarkable 497.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The revenue also surged by 108.6% to 157.5 billion won, while net profit increased by 437.5% to 31.3 billion won.
Korea Investment & Securities attributed the background behind YG Entertainment’s earnings surprise to “the market’s anticipation being surpassed by Blackpink’s world tour concerts and merchandise sales, as well as the 3.9 billion won profit from YG Invest’s disposal of Naver Z shares.”
Alongside the strong first-quarter performance, the announcement of the debut of the rookie girl group ‘BabyMonster‘ after a seven-year hiatus contributed to the stock’s upward movement.
Park Sung-guk, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, commented that in addition to Blackpink’s achievements, “the initial response of Baby Monster, with over 2 million YouTube subscribers even before their debut, and the increasing sales of Treasure’s albums following their comeback, could lead to an upward revision in performance estimates,” resulting in a raised target stock price.
On the other hand, KB Securities, Hana Securities, and Eugene Investment & Securities have all adjusted their target stock prices for YG Entertainment upward.
In his report, Hana Securities researcher Lee Ki-hoon emphasized that “depending on the success of the group Baby Monster, the K-pop industry’s most critical investment point, there is a possibility of expanding the number of artists who sell one million albums from one team, Blackpink, to two teams,” adding that “this would contribute to the increased valuation of YG Entertainment.”
Meanwhile, on this day, HYBE (formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment) closed at 282,000 won, a 1.62% increase from the previous trading day. HYBE has seen a remarkable 42.9% increase in April, with its name appearing among the top stocks favored by foreign investors. The analysis suggests that despite the absence of the BTS group, the rise in new artists such as NU’EST and BTS’s solo activities has alleviated concerns about the BTS members’ military enlistment and potential hiatus, leading to the continued upward trend in the stock price.
On the same day, SM Entertainment (SM) closed at 106,400 won, experiencing a 1.30% decrease compared to the previous trading day.
