(Han Joo-hyung)
Shares of LG Electronics Inc. surged to a new 52-week high on Tuesday morning, following positive evaluations from the securities industry regarding the growth potential of its robotics business.
Shares of LG Electronics were trading at 183,200 won ($123.3) as of 9:28 a.m., up 16.91 percent from the previous session. Shortly after the market opened, the stock rose as much as 17.61 percent to 184,300 won, setting a new 52-week high.
The rise is interpreted as being driven by expectations that LG Electronics’ strong first-quarter earnings, combined with faster-than-expected progress in its robotics business, are boosting investor sentiment.
Earlier, LG Electronics reported an operating profit of 1.67 trillion won for the first quarter, up 32.9 percent from the same period a year ago. The results were disclosed on April 29 and marked the third-highest first-quarter operating profit in the company’s history.
Analysts are also increasingly positive about LG Electronics’ robotics business, viewing it as a step toward becoming a vertically integrated player in the robotics value chain within the group.
Brokerage firms have raised their target prices.
“The current stock price only reflects improvements in the vehicle solution segment,” said Park Jun-seo, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities Co. ”We believe there is sufficient room for multiple re-rating once robotics begins contributing to earnings in the second half of the year.”
Park raised the target price from 150,000 won to 190,000 won.
Eugene Investment & Securities Co. Researcher Lee Joo-hyung also raised the target price from 132,000 won to 195,000 won.
“In the short term, there is potential for an earnings surprise in the second quarter due to possible one-off gains related to tariff refunds,” Lee said. “In the medium to long term, a revaluation of the business portfolio spanning home appliances, automotive components, AI data centers, and robotics will be necessary.”
Separately, Samsung SDS Co. surged Tuesday morning after news that it will support the mobile work environment for the government’s OnAI, a nationwide intelligent work management platform.
Samsung SDS shares were trading at 189,000 won, up 8.81 percent from the previous session. The stock also rose more than 10 percent in after-hours trading on Monday.
The rally is attributed to Samsung SDS announcing that its generative AI-based collaboration tool Brity Works was selected as the official collaboration solution for OnAI, a platform led by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
OnAI is an intelligent work management system designed to allow public officials to use AI tools safely within secure internal networks without security concerns.
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