Hana Securities on the 26th raised the target price for HYBE (352820) by 10% to 440,000 KRW. The investment rating was maintained as 'Buy,' and it was selected as the top preferred stock in the industry.

Researcher Lee Ki-hoon of Hana Securities stated in the report released on the same day, "BTS's world tour is continuing until the second quarter of next year, leading to a rise in stock prices." He explained, "BTS's world tour is showing results that exceed historical expectations."

BTS plans to release a new album on March 20 and then conduct a 79-show world tour starting in Korea on April 9. Additional schedules are planned in Japan and the Middle East in 2027. The researcher mentioned, "The number of tour shows may expand from 85 to 95."

Hana Securities set BTS's expected average selling price (ASP) at about 200 euros in Europe and 220 to 250 dollars in North America. Based on this, the estimated ticket sales revenue is about 900 billion KRW in 2026 and about 400 billion KRW in 2027. The revenue forecast for BTS, including albums, digital music, merchandise, and secondary rights, was revised upward from the previous 1.2 to 1.4 trillion KRW to over 1.6 trillion KRW.

The growth of rookie groups is also attracting attention. The researcher emphasized, "The recently debuted girl group Cats Eye and boy group Cortis are growing at the fastest pace in the past decade." Cats Eye recently had two songs enter the Billboard HOT100 chart within the top 20. This is a performance similar to Black Pink's highest ranking of 22.

If Cats Eye settles within the top 50 of the Billboard HOT100, a tour of about 2 million people is expected to be possible. The researcher said, "Cats Eye is expected to record an audience of about 80,000 last year, 300,000 to 400,000 this year, and around 1 million by 2028."

Cortis had initial sales of about 440,000 copies at debut, and cumulative sales have reached about 1.6 million copies. This is considered the highest sales volume in the past decade. The researcher explained, "Assuming that the sales per album double two years after a successful debut, the current 3 million copies is a level only achievable by BTS and Stray Kids."

Hana Securities analyzed, "The growth speed of rookie groups is very fast, and they are highly likely to achieve great results in the global market in the future." The researcher added, "Cortis has a high probability of becoming the next team following Big Bang, BTS, and Stray Kids."

HYBE's stock price is expected to be positively influenced by BTS's world tour and the growth of rookie groups. Investors are maintaining a positive outlook on HYBE considering these factors.