COVID-19 Spread Lowers Expectations for Recovery
Market research firm FnGuide analyzed 212 listed companies with target stock prices provided by at least three organizations each and reported on Feb. 23 that the targets for this month are lower than a year ago in 87 whereas only 38 companies’ target stock prices have been adjusted upward.
The 87 include eight insurers, six chemical companies, five oil and gas companies, five media companies, five mineral and metal companies, five food suppliers and five commercial banks. Specifically, they include leading exporters such as LG Chem, SK Innovation, POSCO and LG Electronics and holding companies such as Samsung C&T, SK, Hanwha, GS, CJ, Doosan, LS and Hanjin.
When it comes to media, game and software companies, the target stock prices of Jcontentree and CJ ENM have been lowered by 29.66 percent and 28.87 percent in one year, respectively. In the game industry, those of Netmarble, Gamevil, Webzen and Pearl Abyss have been lowered unlike that of NCSoft as the only exception.
On the other hand, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Mobis and LG Innotek showed a gradual increase in target stock price. For reference, South Korea’s semiconductor exports increased by 5.6 percent in one year in January and February, when its petrochemical and automobile exports fell 3.1 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively.
In the meantime, the market cap of 48 personal care product manufacturers such as Amore Pacific and LG Household & Health Care fell 5,056.5 billion won from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20 in the wake of the first confirmation of Covid-19 infection in South Korea. During the same period, the aggregate market values of 21 hotel and leisure companies such as Hana Tour and Kangwon Land and 10 air transport companies such as Korean Air fell 1,846.4 billion won and 260.1 billion won, respectively.