[Click eStock] "Samsung Electronics, Full-Scale Entry into 4Q AI Server Memory Market... Target Price 95,000"

KB Securities announced on the 13th that it is raising the target price for Samsung Electronics from 85,000 KRW to 95,000 KRW, an increase of 11.8%. It expects semiconductor performance to improve significantly from the second half of this year, with annual operating profit returning to the 40 trillion KRW range next year.

Samsung Electronics, which suffered profitability deterioration due to accumulated DRAM inventory from the second half of last year to early this year, is expected to start reducing inventory as shipments increase by 20% quarter-on-quarter from the second quarter of this year. DRAM prices are also estimated to significantly narrow their decline after the second quarter and turn upward around the fourth quarter. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division, which recorded a loss of 4.6 trillion KRW in the first quarter, is expected to reduce losses in the second quarter, improve sharply in the second half, and return to profitability around the fourth quarter.

In particular, Samsung Electronics is expected to officially enter the related market by launching AI server memory HBM3 in the fourth quarter. The AI server market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 25% over the next five years. Additionally, the price of HBM used in AI servers is 5 to 6 times higher than that of existing memory, which is expected to contribute to profitability in the long term.

Dongwon Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, said, "Samsung Electronics' stock price has risen 28% since the beginning of the year, which is about half the increase of its competitor SK Hynix (53%). Considering the full-scale entry into the AI server market through mass production of HBM3 in September and the value of the foundry business, there is sufficient potential for Samsung Electronics' stock price to rise in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.