[Click eStock] "Isu Petasys, Expecting Performance Improvement This Year... Target Price Up"

Meritz Securities raised the target price for Isu Petasys to 50,000 won on the 17th, stating that "performance improvement is expected this year."

Yang Seung-su, a researcher at Meritz Securities, analyzed, "As product mix improvements targeting major clients continue, both the headquarters and the China subsidiary are experiencing growth in performance," adding, "In particular, the headquarters is benefiting from an increase in average selling price (ASP) as volume is concentrated on switches that require high value-added substrates."

Accordingly, Isu Petasys' consolidated performance for the first quarter of this year is expected to record sales of 238.1 billion won (+19.3% year-on-year) and operating profit of 38.6 billion won (+67.8%), exceeding the market consensus (34.4 billion won) by 12.2%.

Annual operating profit for this year is also forecasted to reach 169.5 billion won (+62.7%), an 8.5% upward revision from the previous estimate. Key growth factors include ▲increased market share within major customers of artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators ▲improved yield of substrates for 800G ▲acquisition of new ASIC customers.

Researcher Yang stated, "As the stacking difficulty of newly introduced AI accelerator substrates increases, Isu Petasys' VIPPO technology is gaining more attention, and a corresponding rise in market share is expected." He added, "The yield of substrates for 800G has risen to the mid-80% range, and further yield stabilization is expected to improve profit margins," and forecasted, "With the year-end expansion volume reflected, supply to new ASIC customers will also be in full swing."

He said, "Amid solid demand supporting performance, expectations for growth potential are increasing," and concluded, "Considering the possibility of an upward expansion in stock price, we maintain a 'Buy' investment rating and adjust the fair price upward by 8.7% from the previous level to 50,000 won."