APR (278470.KQ) hit a 52-week high in early trading Wednesday as brokerages issued a series of bullish first-quarter earnings forecasts for the K-beauty device maker.
Shares of APR rose 35,000 won (10.43%) to 370,500 won as of midday trading on the Korea Exchange, marking a new 52-week high. The stock touched 385,000 won intraday as gains accelerated.
The rally came as securities firms raised their price targets after projecting strong first-quarter results. Samsung Securities raised its target price to 500,000 won from 370,000 won on Wednesday, estimating first-quarter revenue of 580.6 billion won and operating profit of 146.1 billion won, up 118% and 168% year-on-year, respectively. The operating profit estimate is 19% above the consensus.
"APR's ability to read the market and quickly develop products is already well known in the industry," said Lee Ga-young, an analyst at Samsung Securities. "We expect the Amazon success story in the U.S. last year to be replicated in Europe this year, with first-quarter results proving the first step."
NH Investment & Securities also raised its target price to 470,000 won. "Revenue growth is diversifying as European and B2B sales expand in earnest from the first quarter," said Jung Ji-yoon, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities. "We expect profit leverage from top-line growth, product mix improvement, and high-margin channel expansion to occur simultaneously."
Cho Eun-ae, an analyst at LS Securities, said, "As online growth continues, the company is making a full-scale entry into the offline market, which is larger and more profitable than online. We expect operating profit to continue its step-function growth, exceeding expectations."
