[Market Focus] NAVER Surges Over 6% on Continued Optimism for Dunamu Merger

NAVER shares are showing strong performance amid expectations that the undervaluation of its stock price relative to corporate value will be resolved through the merger with Dunamu.

As of 9:36 a.m. on October 10, NAVER was trading at 270,000 won, up 17,000 won (6.72%) from the previous trading day.

On this day, Korea Investment & Securities maintained its "Buy" investment opinion and a target price of 300,000 won for NAVER, stating, "Third-quarter earnings are expected to meet market consensus. The merger with Dunamu could mark a turning point in resolving the current undervaluation."

Jung Hoyoon, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "The United States has entered a rate-cutting cycle, and historically, cryptocurrency trading volumes tend to increase when rates are lowered. Therefore, Dunamu is expected to deliver strong results next year." He also emphasized, "In Korea, as the cryptocurrency market becomes institutionalized with the introduction of stablecoins and tokenized securities, NAVER has ample opportunity to expand its business domain by securing a first-mover advantage in various business opportunities."

He added, "NAVER has long been undervalued, mainly due to relatively weak future growth engines such as new businesses. Through the acquisition of Dunamu, NAVER can now enter new businesses based on cryptocurrencies, which marks a turning point for resolving the undervaluation it has faced so far."