[Click eStock] "SK Hynix Likely to Fluctuate Between 180,000 and 240,000 Won for the Time Being"

by Kim Daehyun

Published 04 Mar.2025 15:44(KST)

On the 4th, iM Securities maintained a HOLD rating and a target price of 200,000 KRW for SK Hynix, stating that "operating profit for the first quarter of this year is expected to decrease by 23% from the previous quarter to 6.2 trillion KRW."

[Click eStock] "SK Hynix Likely to Fluctuate Between 180,000 and 240,000 Won for the Time Being"

On the same day, Myungseop Song, a researcher at iM Securities, stated, "In the first quarter, shipments of DRAM and NAND are expected to decrease by 12% and 18%, respectively," adding, "Shipments of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) are also expected to decline by more than 10%." The average selling price (ASP) decline rates for DRAM and NAND in the first quarter are expected to be 5% and 10%, respectively.

In particular, Researcher Song predicted, "NAND operating profit is expected to turn to a loss in the first quarter," and noted, "While the negative impact of special bonuses from the previous quarter will disappear in the first quarter results, there may be inventory asset valuation losses in the NAND segment."

However, due to supply shortages of Double Data Rate (DDR) 5 and HBM from competitors, SK Hynix's future performance is expected to remain relatively strong even during the downturn in the industry. Accordingly, the operating profit forecast for this year was raised from the previous 23.5 trillion KRW to 25.8 trillion KRW.

Researcher Song said, "If the HBM boom and the company's competitiveness are maintained, the lowest PBR (price-to-book ratio) multiple this year will form around 1.5 times (180,000 KRW), and the stock price rebound during this downturn could reach the midpoint of last year's upwardly revised PBR band (1.5 to 2.5 times), which is about 2.0 times (240,000 KRW)." He added, "However, to receive a multiple above the midpoint, it is necessary to confirm an upward turn in the industry cycle."