Members of the group NewJeans (NJZ) answer reporters' questions after completing a hearing on the request for an injunction for ‘preservation of agency status and prohibition on entering advertisement contracts’ held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on March 7. Yonhap News

As the five-member girl group NewJeans under HYBE's label ‘ADOR’ declared a full-group return to ADOR, HYBE's share price also surged on the 13th.

As of 10:02 a.m. on the main bourse, HYBE was trading at KRW 304,500 per share, up KRW 16,500 (5.67%) from the previous session. The previous day, the five NewJeans members announced in an official statement that they would return to ADOR. Reflecting this, in the NextTrade aftermarket the previous day, HYBE closed at KRW 311,000, up 8.93% from the prior day, marking a sharp rally, and the regular session also saw the share price swing strongly.

The surge in HYBE shares is seen as being driven by expectations that HYBE's earnings will be revised upward as NewJeans returns to ADOR. HYBE's share price plunged to around KRW 150,000 in September last year after tensions between former ADOR CEO Min Hee-Jin and HYBE began in April. When NewJeans declared its withdrawal from HYBE on November 28 last year, the stock slumped.

Subsequently, earnings forecasts excluded NewJeans' contribution and the ‘NewJeans risk’ was not heavily priced into the stock, but as the group proceeds with its return, the outlook has changed. Earlier, on the 30th of last month, HYBE shares also jumped more than 5% when NewJeans lost its exclusive-contract dispute with ADOR.

Meritz Securities raised HYBE's target price to KRW 380,000 from KRW 370,000 on the day.

Kim Min-Young, a researcher at Meritz Securities, said, "If NewJeans resumes activities, they could contribute KRW 6 billion to KRW 7 billion to next year's operating profit," adding, "From 2027, they are expected to contribute at least KRW 20 billion to KRW 30 billion or more in profits."