{"id":331291,"date":"2025-01-28T00:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T16:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pinoyinvestor.com\/smartinvestor\/?p=331291"},"modified":"2025-01-28T00:20:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T16:20:30","slug":"stock-in-focus-digiplus-interactive-corp-plus-28-jan-2025-by-ap-securities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pinoyinvestor.com\/smartinvestor\/stock-in-focus-digiplus-interactive-corp-plus-28-jan-2025-by-ap-securities\/","title":{"rendered":"Stock in Focus: DigiPlus Interactive Corp. (PLUS) – 28 Jan 2025 by AP Securities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary of Broker’s Recommendation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Stock Code<\/strong><\/td>PLUS<\/td><\/tr>
Company Name<\/strong><\/td>DigiPlus Interactive Corp.<\/td><\/tr>
Broker<\/strong><\/td>AP Securities<\/td><\/tr>
Opinion Issued on<\/strong><\/td>28 Jan 2025<\/td><\/tr>
Recommendation<\/strong><\/td>Hold<\/td><\/tr>
1-Year Target Price<\/strong><\/td>PHP 28.85<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Based on the stock\u2019s last traded price of P26.95, there is now only 7.1% potential upside to the consensus Target Price, which would warrant a HOLD. However, the company\u2019s solid fundamentals and enticing growth prospects should shield it from massive share price drops in the event of a major market correction. One caveat here is that there is an increasing risk of legislative risk with \u201conline gambling addiction\u201d problems in the Philippines garnering more and more media attention in recent months. With this in mind, we generally think that PLUS is a safe bet (pun intended) unless Senate starts summoning its executives for Senate hearings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Analysis and Opinion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

PLUS doubled its user count in 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to reporters, PLUS Chairman Yosi Tanco said that the eGaming company\u2019s number of registered users doubled to 40-Mn in 2024 from around 20-Mn the previous year. Tanco had previously warned that this trend is unsustainable and will likely slow this year. However, PLUS is confident that the expected slowdown in the Philippines will be offset by the company\u2019s entry into the Brazilian iGaming market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ol\u00e1, Brasil!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLUS is one of the 15 iGaming operators that were granted full permanent licenses to operate by the Brazilian government earlier this year, while 66 operators were granted provisional licenses. It is an extremely crowded field to play in, with established names like BET365 and Betano (23% and 20% market share, respectively) also receiving full licenses. However, it can be a huge growth market with online betting GGR in Brazil projected to grow at a more rapid pace of 12.5% annually in the next five years vs a more modest annual growth of 4.5% in the Philippines. If PLUS can manage to capture even just 5% market share in Brazil this year, that would translate to around $145-Million (P8.25-Billion) in GGR or almost 10% of the 2025 consensus forecast GGR of P85.9-Bn for PLUS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A favorable regulatory environment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGCOR has been actively trying to grow the eGaming segment here in the Philippines to generate revenues, and it has been doing this by incentivizing operators with lower tariffs on gaming revenues. The latest tariff cut came into effect this January, with rates for eBingo, eCasino, and virtual sportsbetting being slashed by 5.0ppts to 30% while the rate for live sportsbetting was cut by 2.5ppts to 17.5%. It has been an effective move so far, with eGaming GGR surging by 502.8% YoY in 9M24 in stark contrast with the 20.3% slump in traditional Bingo and the 5.0% contraction in physical casino GGR during the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check how many brokers recommend this stock<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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All Stock Rankings<\/a><\/blockquote>