InBody Rises More Than 6%: "Body Composition Analyzers to Benefit from the Expansion of Obesity Treatment"

[Financial News] InBody is rising more than 6% in early trading. The stock's rise is interpreted as reflecting expectations that demand for body composition analyzers, which precisely measure body fat and muscle mass, will increase as the obesity treatment market expands.
As of 9:26 a.m. on the 3rd, InBody shares were trading at 62,600 won, up 6.28% from the previous trading day. The stock rose as high as 62,700 won in early trading, gaining 6.45%. The current price is 3,600 won higher than the closing price of 58,900 won on the 2nd.
As the obesity treatment market shifts beyond simple weight loss to emphasize the 'quality of weight loss'—reducing body fat while minimizing muscle loss—market interest in InBody is growing.
In particular, as Hanmi Pharmaceutical's next-generation obesity treatment is being developed to minimize muscle loss, InBody's role in measuring and managing body composition is gaining prominence.
IBK Securities gave InBody a 'buy' rating and set a target price of 81,000 won.
Yoo Chang-keun, an analyst at IBK Securities, said, "As the 'quality of weight loss' becomes more important than simple weight loss, an expansion in demand for body composition analyzers is inevitable," forecasting that InBody's benefits from the obesity treatment market would become visible.
Yoo particularly noted that InBody's end market is expanding from the existing fitness market to the obesity treatment market, including hospitals, clinics, and research institutions.
According to InBody, hospitals and medical institutions accounted for 43.6% of sales at its U.S. subsidiary in the first half of this year, far exceeding the 23.3% share of fitness and sports. The potential U.S. market for body composition analyzers could also expand from its existing focus on fitness centers to approximately 220,000 medical institutions.
Earnings growth is also providing support. IBK Securities estimated that InBody's sales this year would reach 289.2 billion won, up 23.6% from the previous year, while operating profit would reach 58.1 billion won, up 58%.
The firm expected the operating leverage from InBody's overseas sales network, which was proactively expanded last year, to take full effect alongside rising demand for professional and home-use InBody devices driven by increased demand for obesity treatment monitoring.
Meanwhile, InBody is a stock that has risen sharply as recent earnings improvements have coincided with expectations for expansion of the obesity treatment market. On the 6th of last month, the stock rose more than 23% in a single day following the announcement of its second-quarter results. In the first half of this year, sales reached 141.7 billion won and operating profit reached 30.8 billion won, up 26.8% and 76.9%, respectively, from the same period last year.

[email protected] Kang Jung-mo Reporter