Opinions on KRAFTON varied among the securities industry. MERITZ Securities assessed that KRAFTON has entered a phase of stock price increase with its new release, while Shinhan Investment Corp. forecasted that the company's high growth would be difficult.
On the 12th, MERITZ Securities raised KRAFTON's target stock price from the previous 430,000 won to 470,000 won, presenting an investment opinion of 'buy.' Considering the previous day's closing price of 375,000 won, this indicates a potential upside of 25.3%.
Lee Hyo-jin, a researcher at MERITZ Securities, noted, "KRAFTON's profits increased by 54% last year, and the stock price also rose by the same rate," adding, "An active shareholder return policy and the success of new releases will drive this year's stock price increase."
KRAFTON expressed its ambition to achieve a corporate value of 7 trillion won, double its value in five years through an annual investment of 300 billion won. In response, the researcher analyzed, "The share of the PUBG franchise is 60%, and the current PUBG revenue of 2.7 trillion won (total revenue of 6 trillion won) is expected to grow to 4 trillion won," adding, "They appear to plan for 3 trillion won in revenue through new intellectual properties."
MERITZ Securities highlighted that KRAFTON's 'Enjoy' and 'Subnautica 2' made it to the top 10 on the Steam wish list. The researcher stated, "If we participate in the 2025 Gamescom as a main sponsor with Microsoft, the possibility of 'Subnautica' winning an award is also anticipated."
However, Shinhan Investment Corp. took a more conservative view on the box office potential of KRAFTON's new release. Kang Seok-oh, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., stated, "The stock price rose due to expectations of performance and new releases, reaching the target price," and added, "Without proving development and publishing capabilities through new releases outside of PUBG, it will be difficult to expand valuation."
Kang's judgment is that PUBG's growth rate will significantly slow this year due to increased pressure from monetization fatigue and performance bases. He emphasized, "Investments to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into games and to discover new intellectual property (IP) are positive," but he added, "The capabilities in development and publishing have not been confirmed through the numerous new releases that have been launched so far."
In this context, it's said that this year's price-to-earnings ratio (PER) at about 20 times limits the potential for stock price increase. Researcher Kang agreed on the direction of the stock price but remarked that the time needed for performance visibility reduces short-term investment attractiveness, and added, "The results of 'Enjoy,' which will be released next month, will be an important milestone for proving development capability and stock price."