[Click eStock] "Market Cap Expected to Reach 200 Trillion... SK Hynix Target Price Up"

Hana Securities on the 11th raised the target price for SK Hynix from 240,000 KRW to 280,000 KRW, stating that "a market capitalization of 200 trillion KRW is in sight." The buy rating was also maintained.

On the same day, Kim Rok-ho, a researcher at Hana Securities, said, "Although the stock price has risen significantly since the beginning of the year, the industry trend is differentiated by leading high-bandwidth memory (HBM). It is still recommended as the top pick within the sector."

He added, "The tight supply and demand situation will continue in the second half of the year. With the full-scale supply of HBM3E (5th generation) 8-layer products and the start of 12-layer supply, DRAM prices are likely to rise. In conclusion, there is room for upward revision of estimates."

He forecasted that the sales for the second quarter of this year will reach 16.85 trillion KRW, a 131% increase compared to the same period last year, and operating profit will turn positive to 5.62 trillion KRW. This outlook exceeds market expectations. Researcher Kim stated, "Both DRAM and NAND will continue to experience tight supply and demand, resulting in a better-than-expected industry environment. DRAM shipments are estimated to surpass competitors due to the base effect from the previous quarter and the start of HBM3E 8-layer supply."

Accordingly, earnings forecasts for this year and next year were revised upward again. Kim explained, "Operating profit for this year is raised from the previous 23.3 trillion KRW to 26.2 trillion KRW, and for next year from 39 trillion KRW to 43.3 trillion KRW. The shipment assumptions remain similar to previous forecasts, but price and exchange rate assumptions have been adjusted upward." The price increase for NAND showed greater volatility than for DRAM, and the exchange rate was raised from the previous 1,311 KRW to 1,351 KRW for next year.

He further stated, "There is still a possibility of additional upward revisions to the current estimates. The upward factors include the impact of the full-scale supply of HBM3E 8-layer products starting in the third quarter of last year on the blended average selling price of DRAM, and the potential demand increase due to the launch of AI PCs and recovery of general server customers. Conversely, the downside risk would be a relaxation of the tight supply and demand, but supply-side variables are limited. We expect demand weakness due to the global economic recession," he added.

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