[Market Focus] LS Surges Over 9% on Copper Price Gains and Treasury Share Cancellation Hopes

LS shares are rising as expectations related to the increase in copper prices and the cancellation of treasury shares are reflected in the market.

As of 9:20 a.m. on the 29th, LS was trading at 207,750 won, up 18,550 won (9.80%) from the previous trading day.

On December 23, the price of copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) surpassed $12,000 per ton for the first time ever, and continued its upward trend the following day, reaching $12,253 per ton. The annual increase in copper prices this year has reached 40.7%, marking the largest yearly gain since 2009.

On this day, iM Securities maintained its "Buy" investment rating on LS and raised its target price from 220,000 won to 250,000 won.

Lee Sangheon, a researcher at iM Securities, emphasized, "Most of LS's subsidiaries have a very high correlation with copper prices due to their business structure. In particular, LS Cable and LS I&D have product prices that are linked to copper prices to a certain extent, so the rise in copper prices is expected to materialize as improved performance going forward, benefiting these companies."

He added, "Above all, with the third amendment to the Commercial Act ushering in an era of mandatory cancellation, the cancellation of a significant portion of LS's 12.5% treasury shares has become inevitable. This could lay the foundation for an increase in valuation (the level of stock price relative to corporate value)."