Securities firms are split on HL Mando, which is trying to transform itself from an auto parts maker into a robot corporations. With the expansion of the Humanoid Robot market, some are optimistic that HL Mando will emerge as a frontrunner in robot actuators, while others worry that it still has no concrete orders tied to Humanoid Robot projects and could be disadvantaged in long-term price competition with Chinese companies.
According to the financial investment industry on the 15th, NH Investment & Securities and Samsung Securities on the 12th raised their target price for HL Mando to a range of 63,000 to 67,000 won. The move reflects growing expectations among securities firms after HL Mando held its first CEO Investor Day (CID) in four years and said it will make a full-scale push into the robot actuator business this year.
HL Mando unveiled a detailed roadmap for the humanoid actuator business that has driven its recent share-price gains. It forecast the Humanoid Robot market at 53 trillion won and the actuator market at 23 trillion won in 2035, and set a goal of 2.3 trillion won in sales, or about a 10% share of the actuator market.
To back this up, it emphasized plans to build a mass-production system centered on North America in 2027 to 2028, and to pursue large-scale mass production and market expansion from 2029 onward.
Lim Eun-young, a Samsung Securities analyst, said, "HL Mando showed confidence in system orders based on proven durability, sourcing capability, and local production capacity in North America," adding, "At the point of mass production of humanoids, demand will grow for system parts suppliers with diverse capabilities, such as managing North American supply chains."
Haneul, an NH Investment & Securities analyst, said, "In addition to mix improvement from a higher share of next-generation parts sales, we raised the valuation premium to 15% from 10% in light of the detailed roadmap for the humanoid actuator business."
However, on the same day Korea Investment & Securities lowered its investment rating on HL Mando to neutral. Korea Investment & Securities cited as key concerns that large-scale mass-production orders tied to Humanoid Robot projects have not yet been finalized and that the share price has surged on market expectations.
Choi Chang-ho, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "Contrary to expectations, there were no new orders related to robot actuators, and the sales target presented was below market estimates," adding, "Given that it is still under development, optimism has been excessively priced in." HL Mando's share price jumped 40.72% over the past month (Nov. 12 to Dec. 12) on expectations for its entry into the robot business.
There were also concerns about competitiveness against Chinese companies. Kang Sung-jin, an analyst at KB Securities, said, "HL Mando is already experiencing slowing growth in China's auto parts market due to aggressive pricing by local players," adding, "In the humanoid parts market, Chinese companies are already attacking the market with price competitiveness."