[Market Focus] YG Entertainment Surges on Second-Quarter Profit Turnaround Expectations

YG Entertainment is showing strong performance on July 8. The buying trend appears to be driven by expectations of a turnaround to profitability in the second quarter.

As of 10:29 a.m. on this day, YG Entertainment shares are trading at 85,400 won on the KOSDAQ market, up 3.26% from the previous trading day. The stock opened at 84,800 won and has maintained its upward momentum.

Hana Securities forecast YG Entertainment's second-quarter revenue and operating profit at 103.9 billion won and 2.3 billion won, respectively. This represents a 15% increase year-on-year and signals a return to profitability. Analysts Lee Kihun and Kim Hyunsu explained, "Although there are no new albums, the figures reflect approximately 350,000 attendees from BabyMonster and Treasure's tours in Japan and Asia." Accordingly, they raised their target price by 9% to 120,000 won.

They added, "BLACKPINK's stadium world tour began in the third quarter, and each of the three groups will release one album in the second half of the year. In addition, with YG's new MD strategy, a sharp increase in MD sales is expected, with related sales in the second half alone likely to approach 80 billion won."