[Economic Reporter Kim Young-seo] SK Hynix [000660], engaged in semiconductor device manufacturing, surpassed 500,000 KRW in stock price, reaching a new 52-week high on the 21st, buoyed by industry expectations. At around 10:40 a.m., SK Hynix was trading at 499,500 KRW, up 2.88% (14,000 KRW) from the previous session. Starting at 497,000 KRW, the stock rose to 502,000 KRW early in the trading session, marking a new 52-week high.
According to the Korea Exchange, this represents an approximately 104.9% increase from the stock price (245,000 KRW) on August 21, three months ago. This surge is the result of a combination of favorable third-quarter performance and optimism regarding the expanding demand for AI memory. As a result, the KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index) is generally trending upward. It’s an all-time high. As of 10:43 a.m., the KOSPI was trading at 3,891.48, up 76.79 points (2.01%) from the previous trading day.
With the recent semiconductor industry rebound and expanding AI demand, securities firms are continuously raising SK Hynix’s target stock prices. KB Securities revised its target from 460,000 KRW to 600,000 KRW, Daishin Securities from 480,000 KRW to 550,000 KRW, iM Securities from 420,000 KRW to 530,000 KRW, and Kiwoom Securities from 300,000 KRW to 520,000 KRW.
KB Securities analysts Kim Dong-won and Kang Da-hyun analyzed, “The target price increase stems from the explosive rise in memory demand from AI data center companies spreading from the existing HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) to all memory sectors, including server DRAM, GDDR7, LPDDR5X, and eSSD. On the supply side, due to conservative facility investment, a short-term increase within 1-2 years is practically impossible, leading to an inevitable severe supply shortage in the future.”
Daishin Securities analyst Ryu Hyung-geun also reported, “Fear of missing out (FOMO) on DRAM availability is intensifying demand, with some server customers beginning to discuss their 2027 requirements.” He emphasized that the possibility of supply excess from SK Hynix is limited and noted that SK Hynix “secures a competitive advantage in all product lines as the leader in both products and technology.”