SK Hynix’s Double Catalyst: Daiwa’s Bold New Target and HBM4E Samples Arriving Ahead of Schedule
16.06.2026 - 03:01:17 | boerse-global.de
SK Hynix is drawing fire from two fronts this week — a radical upgrade from one of Seoul’s top brokerages and an accelerated timeline for its next-generation memory chips — as the South Korean semiconductor heavyweight cements its hold on the AI trade. Shares closed at 2,288,000 won on Monday, just 5% off the 52-week high of 2,407,000 won set on June 2.
The Daiwa analysts more than doubled their price target on the stock, lifting it to 3.6 million won from 1.67 million won, arguing that the company’s pricing power in DRAM warrants a 35% premium over global peers. The rationale: stronger-than-expected memory pricing in the second half of 2026, driven by relentless AI-server demand, with longer-term contracts increasingly locking in those gains.
Behind Daiwa’s conviction sits a record-breaking first quarter. Revenue crossed 50 trillion won for the first time, operating profit hit an all-time high of 37.6 trillion won, and the operating margin swelled to a staggering 72%. The balance sheet has also strengthened: net liquidity rose to 35 trillion won as the group slashed interest-bearing debt and built up cash reserves.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
Meanwhile, SK Hynix is racing even faster to supply NVIDIA’s next-generation AI accelerator platform. The company has pulled forward delivery of HBM4E engineering samples to this month or July — months earlier than initially planned for the second half of 2026. These samples target NVIDIA’s “Vera Rubin Ultra” platform, and early validation could widen the technological lead over rival Samsung, which recently showed off its own HBM4E and HBM5 prototypes.
That competitive edge is already translating into orders. SK Hynix has secured roughly 70% of the HBM4 supply contracts for the Vera Rubin platform, handily beating earlier market estimates of around 50%. Industry researchers now expect the firm to command about 54% of the entire global HBM4 market in 2026. The HBM4E chips will use TSMC’s 3-nanometer process for the logic die, maximizing bandwidth for large-scale AI data centers.
Outside the HBM spotlight, SK Hynix also hit a technical milestone in NAND flash: validation of its 375-layer product is complete, with mass production slated for the end of 2026. The shift from tungsten to molybdenum for manufacturing sidesteps the physical limits of smaller process nodes. A further tailwind came from geopolitical news — reports of a ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran over the weekend boosted risk appetite across South Korean markets, lifting chip stocks broadly in early trade.
The stock’s annualised 30-day volatility stands above 102%, reflecting extreme sensitivity to any shift in AI-memory pricing forecasts. Investors now have two key milestones to watch: NVIDIA’s evaluation of the HBM4E samples, which will determine whether the 70% order share holds, and SK Hynix’s second-quarter earnings, where management’s commentary on HBM and NAND margins will be under the microscope. With the RSI at 62.5 and the stock already up nearly 238% year-to-date, the market is pricing in perfection — but Daiwa’s bold new target suggests the bull case still has room to run.
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SK Hynix Stock: New Analysis - 16 June
Fresh SK Hynix information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
