Hana Securities noted on the 2nd that SOOP (formerly AfreecaTV) is growing with strengths in live streaming service related to fandom and revenue generation, and recommended 'expanding weight' in the long term. It maintained a target stock price of 150,000 won and an investment opinion of 'buy.' The closing price of SOOP on the previous trading day was 86,700 won.
Hana Securities projected that SOOP's consolidated operating revenue and operating profit for the first quarter of this year would increase by 11.7% and 2.6% compared to the previous year to 102.1 billion won and 29.3 billion won, respectively. These figures align with the consensus (average projections in the securities industry).
Platform service revenue is expected to reach 85.3 billion won, while revenue from virtual gifts is anticipated to amount to 82.6 billion won. Lee Jun-ho, a Research Institute at Hana Securities, said, "Both platform advertising and content-based advertising are expected to show favorable performance compared to the first quarter of last year."
The acquisition of PlayD announced last month is expected to be completed on the 3rd and will be reflected from the second quarter results. Last year, PlayD's annual operating profit was around 4 billion won, but profit contribution this year is expected to be limited due to the amortization from purchase price allocation. This researcher noted, "The acquisition of PlayD is expected to bring synergy in SOOP's platform advertising sector and secure non-gaming advertisers."
Hana Securities pointed out that creators are securing fandom and achieving stable revenue generation through live streaming recently. It predicted that the explosive growth of short-form content will continue for the time being. This researcher emphasized, "Although the decreasing trend in monthly unique visitors (MUV) for SOOP is regrettable compared to the global market, the viewer ship is steadily increasing. If the fandom of long-time streamers strengthens, and the growth of new streamers occurs accompanied by sports and esports events and the launch of mega hit games, MUV could stabilize and rebound sufficiently."
He continued, "SOOP is currently trading at a historical low level, which is a period with little profit from selling, and it is effective to gradually expand the weight in the long term while confirming achievements such as continuous growth in virtual gifts and the acquisition of PlayD."