Kakao overhauled its KakaoTalk mobile messenger, but users panned the changes and the stock is also trending lower.
Kakao shares were trading at 60,000 won on the KOSPI market at 9:37 a.m. on the 26th. The share price fell 5.01% (3,200 won) from the previous day.
On the 23rd, through an update, Kakao changed the KakaoTalk friends list to a feed format like the social media (SNS) Instagram and enhanced features such as message editing and chatroom folders.
Users said KakaoTalk had become an SNS rather than a messenger, making it inconvenient. Some even shared ways to avoid updating KakaoTalk.
However, securities firms collectively raised their target prices after Kakao announced its revamp. Since the 24th, the average target price from 13 securities firms that issued investment opinions on Kakao is 82,080 won.