[Featured Stock] Orion Rises Over 5% on Earnings Improvement Outlook

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Orion's stock price is showing strength in early trading on the 21st amid improved earnings outlook.

As of 9:54 a.m. on the day, Orion is trading at 125,000 KRW, up 5.04% from the previous trading day.

Orion's stock price rose as much as 7.56% during the session before giving up some of the gains.

Shinhan Investment Corp. raised its target price from 135,000 KRW to 150,000 KRW in a report, citing strong performance across all regions in November.

According to Shinhan Investment Corp., Orion's year-on-year sales growth rate by country in November was 25.2% in Korea, 27.6% in China, 42.0% in Vietnam, and 84.7% in Russia. Operating profit growth rates by country were 26.1% in Korea, 125.8% in China, 27.7% in Vietnam, and 145.0% in Russia.

Researcher Cho Sang-hoon of Shinhan Investment Corp. said, "If domestic consumption rebounds following the easing of China's quarantine policies, earnings improvement will accelerate," adding, "After the snack peak season in Q3 and the pie peak season in Q4 this year, earnings improvement across all categories is expected in 2023."

Researcher Lee Kyung-shin of Hi Investment & Securities explained, "Market dominance is clearly rising across all regions," and "If cost burdens decrease next year, further margin improvement will be achieved."