 |
Photo courtesy of SK Hynix |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Sangjin] BNK Investment & Securities predicted on Tuesday that SK Hynix's stock price could surpass KRW 300,000 as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) operating profits are expected to more than double year-on-year, and mobile demand in the first half is recovering faster than anticipated. The firm raised its target price from KRW 250,000 to KRW 310,000 in its report titled "Improving Demand Environment: Time to See KRW 300,000 Hynix?"
BNK Investment & Securities revised its projection for the bottoming-out of memory average selling price (ASP) growth from Q2 to Q1 of this year. It stated, "While mobile inventory adjustments were initially expected to be completed in Q1, Chinese smartphone OEMs altered their inventory policies due to concerns over the U.S.-China trade dispute under the Trump administration. By maintaining higher inventory levels than before, mobile demand in the first half is likely to recover faster than expected."
For servers, the firm noted slower inventory adjustments for DDR4 but projected steady demand for DDR5. Although demand for 32GB monodie-based 128GB high-capacity modules, which were launched later than competitors, is lower than anticipated, concentrated demand for the flagship 96GB products is seen as a positive factor.
In the HBM market, BNK highlighted that SK Hynix is well-positioned to achieve strong profitability, given Samsung Electronics has not yet penetrated the smaller supply chains of Micron and NVIDIA.
The firm added, "Over 400 large language models (LLMs) are being developed globally, and investments in AI server infrastructure appear stronger than expected. TSMC, which raised its production plans in the second half of last year, has placed orders for this year that are twice SK Hynix's production capacity. As a result, HBM operating profits are expected to rise from KRW 7 trillion last year to over KRW 15 trillion this year."
Considering the faster-than-expected improvement in demand, BNK Investment & Securities raised its 2024 operating profit forecast for SK Hynix by 23%. Consequently, the target price was increased from KRW 250,000 to KRW 310,000, while maintaining a "Buy" rating.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim SangJin(letyou@alphabiz.co.kr)
