SK Securities said May 7 that a structural revaluation of memory semiconductors is gaining momentum in the artificial intelligence era, raising its target price for SK Hynix to 3 million won from 2 million won, a 50% increase. It maintained its “buy” rating.
Analyst Han Dong-hee said the revaluation “is still only at an early stage,” citing what he described as top-tier profit and profitability among global AI-related stocks, improving structural earnings stability and a broader base of buyers for Korean memory makers. He said the stock’s undervaluation “is only beginning to stand out.”
SK Securities noted that despite a recent surge in the share price, SK Hynix’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio remains around five times. With a strong memory cycle, higher HBM prices and expanding long-term supply contracts, it said further earnings upgrades and a valuation re-rating could occur at the same time.
The firm pointed to AI adoption as reshaping the demand structure for memory. It said memory, once tied closely to cyclical replacement demand for smartphones and PCs, is now a key component that affects AI inference performance and cost efficiency.
It added that discussions of long-term supply contracts spanning three to five years are spreading in the high-value memory market centered on HBM, and said the shift should reduce earnings volatility and improve stability.
SK Securities also raised its forecasts, putting SK Hynix’s 2026 operating profit at 262 trillion won, up 4% from its prior estimate, and projecting 2027 operating profit of 376 trillion won, up 15%.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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