View of Naver office building. (Photo=Naver)

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Eugene Investment & Securities has raised NAVER’s target price by 16% to 280,000 KRW, citing expectations for service quality improvements through AI and growth in its commerce sector.


Despite last year’s sluggish advertising and commerce market, NAVER achieved both revenue and profit growth through content feed integration, the introduction of Clips, and internal business restructuring, such as the Plus Store (a product price comparison service).


Eugene Investment highlighted that NAVER’s commerce sector is expected to drive overall earnings growth, particularly with the launch of a standalone Plus Store app in the second quarter.


Last year, NAVER’s commerce sector grew by 17% year-over-year, supported by a rebound in membership revenue following a content partnership with Netflix in November and an 11% increase in on-platform transaction volume. The analyst noted that NAVER’s strengthened membership services would further contribute to Plus Store’s activation once the separate app is launched in the first half of this year.


Additionally, Eugene Investment revised NAVER’s operating profit forecast upward from 2.255 trillion KRW to 2.277 trillion KRW for 2024.

 

 

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