Samsung Life Insurance posted a weaker-than-expected second quarter as higher insurance payouts and losses tied to variable insurance hedging eroded profitability, prompting securities firms to cut their target prices even as the stock rose 3.26% to 300,000 won in morning trade on the 14th. Consolidated net profit attributable to controlling shareholders fell about 9% from a year earlier to 689.9 billion won, missing both Hanwha Investment & Securities' forecast and market consensus, while standalone operating profit dropped 73.5% to 184.3 billion won. The biggest pressure came from the core insurance business. Insurance profit fell to 276.6 billion won, about half the year-earlier level, as loss ratios for both survival and death coverage increased and actual claims exceeded expectations. Investment performance also deteriorated, with second-quarter investment income posting a 92.3 billion won loss after roughly 85 billion won in hedge losses related to variable insurance guarantee risk, alongside losses in both special and general account investment income. Hanwha Investment & Securities cut its target price to 336,000 won from 346,000 won and kept a Hold rating. Samsung Securities lowered its target to 350,000 won from 400,000 won while maintaining a Buy rating, and NH Investment & Securities set a 390,000 won target, down 13.3%. Hanwha also reduced its full-year and next-year profit estimates and said Samsung Life's insurance business value had declined by 3.2 trillion won from its previous report. Analysts said Samsung Life's large Samsung Electronics stake remains a major support for net asset value (NAV, value of assets minus liabilities), but that alone may not justify a re-rating. The central issue is whether the company can present a concrete value-up policy that turns potential gains from those holdings into shareholder returns through dividends and buybacks. Without that blueprint, analysts said upside from the current share price appears limited despite adequate capital capacity.