Shares of Netmarble, the South Korean videogame company, saw a significant rise for the second consecutive session due to the strong performance of its latest mobile game. The stock gained as much as 17% to 54,000 won ($40.73) in early afternoon trade, following an 8.8% increase on Monday, making it the largest daily percentage rise in almost nine months, according to FactSet. While the stock benchmark Kospi experienced a decline of 0.6%, Netmarble’s rally demonstrates growing investor optimism surrounding their new game called “Seven Knights Idle Adventure,” which was released on September 6.
According to market analysts, the game quickly climbed to second place in the Google Play Store and secured the top spot in the App Store for sales within just five days of its launch. Samsung Securities expects Netmarble’s operating loss to narrow by 68% in the third quarter, reaching KRW11.8 billion, due to the strong revenue growth driven by the new game. They also anticipate that Netmarble will return to profitability in the fourth quarter with a series of upcoming game releases.
In light of these positive developments, Samsung Securities upgraded its rating for Netmarble’s stock from hold to buy and increased its target price by 5.7% to KRW56,000.
by Kwanwoo Jun