SK hynix's stock price is rising by more than 4%. As the company maintains its lead in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, observations indicate that the demand for general (legacy) semiconductors is improving faster than expected, fueled by China's demand for artificial intelligence (AI) model development.
According to the Korea Exchange and others on the 12th, as of 10:30 a.m. that day, SK hynix's stock price rose by 4.26% (8,000 won) compared to the previous day, recovering the 190,000 won mark. After falling below the 190,000 won mark on the 10th, it reached as high as 196,400 won during intraday trading for the first time in two trading days.
The prospect that the demand for legacy semiconductors, represented by DRAM, is improving faster than expected has created a favorable situation. Hanwha Investment & Securities raised its target price for SK hynix from 280,000 won to 290,000 won that day. The potential for an increase compared to the previous closing price (187,800 won) is 54.4%.
Kim Kwang-jin, a researcher from Hanwha Investment & Securities, noted, "Since the launch of DeepSeek, the demand for low-cost AI model development has increased in China, improving the demand for legacy DRAM. Currently, the inventory of legacy DRAM held by the memory industry is within 10 weeks, and the decline in DRAM prices is expected to slow down."
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics' stock price, which had been sidelined due to losing the control of the HBM market, is also strong. There is optimism that the expansion of China's legacy semiconductor demand will impact Samsung Electronics' performance as well. At the same time, Samsung Electronics recorded a price of 54,600 won, which is an increase of 1.87% compared to the previous trading day.