Kiwoom Securities on the 19th raised its forecast for SK hynix's operating profit next year to 80 trillion won and lifted its target price by 12.3% to 730,000 won from 650,000 won. The previous day, SK hynix closed at 570,000 won.
Park Yu-ak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said, "In the fourth quarter (Oct.–Dec.), revenue will come in at 28.8 trillion won and operating profit at 15 trillion won, beating the market forecast of 14.1 trillion won," and added, "With further increases expected in fixed prices of commodity memory products, it is advisable to raise earnings expectations."
He added, "Commodity DRAM is entering a recovery cycle centered on price increases due to lower distribution inventories, reduced supply of DDR5 to boost DDR4 production, and improved demand for server DRAM," noting, "The strength of the initial upcycle is also exceeding expectations."
At the same time, Park projected SK hynix's 2026 results at 136.2 trillion won in revenue and 80 trillion won in operating profit. He raised the price outlook for commodity memory products, and because results for the off-season first quarter next year (Jan.–Mar.) are also expected to far exceed market expectations of 14.9 trillion won in both revenue and operating profit.
Park said, "There is concern that a sharp rise in DRAM prices could lead to weaker demand for PCs and smartphones, but for the time being, the momentum of upward revisions to price outlooks and market consensus is expected to drive the share price higher."
Earlier, SK hynix reported consolidation-basis third-quarter revenue of 24,448.9 billion won and operating profit of 11,383.4 billion won this year. Revenue rose 39.1% from a year earlier, and operating profit increased 61.9% from a year earlier.