Kakao's stock price fell more than 5% in early trading, reaching a new 52-week low.
According to the Korea Exchange, as of 10:14 a.m., Kakao shares were trading at 38,150 won, down 2,100 won (5.22%) from the previous trading day. The stock dropped to 37,850 won shortly after the market opened, marking its lowest price in a year.
Since the beginning of the year, Kakao's stock has declined by over 36%. According to Naver Pay Securities, the average purchase price for 96,733 Kakao investors is 83,068 won, resulting in an average loss of 53.77%.
Analysts have recently lowered their target prices for Kakao. Mirae Asset Securities set a target of 58,000 won, Daol Investment & Securities at 60,000 won, LS Securities at 66,000 won, and KB Securities at 69,000 won.
Im Hee-seok, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, stated, "While the restructuring of subsidiaries is a positive step for improving profitability, it will be difficult for the stock to be re-evaluated until visible results from the anticipated introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) that accelerates user engagement on KakaoTalk are realized."
Kim Hye-young, a researcher at Daol Investment & Securities, noted, "Kakao is currently in the stage of enhancing the capabilities of its AI agent 'Kanana' and AI services based on KakaoTalk. We expect stronger integration with existing ecosystems such as mobility, payments, and maps, but significant monetization is likely to occur gradually after 2027."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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