JYP Entertainment shares soar due to success of its artists

Stray Kids [JYP Entertainment]

JYP Entertainment’s stock is flying high, fueled by the success of its artists, such as Twice and Stray Kids.

As of 11:02 a.m., JYP Entertainment’s shares rose 3.38 percent to trade at 137,700 won ($107.98).

“Ticket sales for the girl group Twice’s world tour recorded 470,000 units, while Stray Kids’ album sales recorded 6.38 million units, the highest ever in the history of K-pop,” Kim Hyun-yong, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, said.

Kim anticipates JYP Entertainment will have the highest profit growth rate for the latter half of this year among the four K-pop powerhouses — JYP, HYBE, YG and SM — with promising performances from world tours of Twice, Stray Kids, ITZY and NiziU scheduled later this year.

Analysts are also eyeing JYP’s A2K Project, in which the K-pop agency is collaborating with American record label Republic Records, owned by Universal Music, to debut a girl group in North America.

The project is expected to be revealed sometime in the second quarter. JYP is the first of four K-pop powerhouses to produce a localized K-pop group in the United States.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]