On the morning of the 23rd, KakaoBank's stock price is down about 5%. This is interpreted as being influenced by global investment bank JP Morgan's downgrade of its investment opinion on KakaoBank to 'underweight' due to excessive market expectations.
As of 9:23 a.m. on the 23rd, KakaoBank is trading at 30,300 won, down 1,850 won (5.77%) from the previous trading day in the securities market.
JP Morgan has downgraded its investment opinion on KakaoBank from neutral to 'underweight.' The target price remains at 23,000 won, which is 23.8% (7,200 won) lower than the current price (30,300 won).
JP Morgan recently explained that KakaoBank's stock price surged over 14% in one day after receiving permission from the Thai government to operate as a virtual bank (digital bank). They noted, 'This stock price increase is expected to take years to contribute to actual performance, and considering the equity structure from foreign investors, the revenue KakaoBank can achieve will inevitably be limited.'
Additionally, regarding the expectations around the stablecoin-related business being reflected in the stock price as a premium, it was pointed out that 'there are currently no specific implementation plans or institutional discussions,' and 'especially, it is irrational for the stock price to react based solely on simple expectations without visibility on financial performance.'
Earlier, JP Morgan also downgraded its investment opinion on Kakao Pay to 'underweight,' stating that market expectations are excessive.