DS Investment & Securities said on the 30th that SK hynix(000660) is expected to continue its operating profit growth trend through the fourth quarter of 2027. Although the stock price has plunged recently, the analysis said there is still a possibility it will attempt a new all-time high compared with the past memory supercycle.
Researcher Lee Su-rim at DS Investment & Securities analyzed the current phase by comparing the stock price movements of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix during the 2017–2018 memory supercycle in a report that day.
According to DS Investment & Securities, SK hynix recorded its first peak in Oct. 2017 and then underwent a correction of about 27% for about four months, but subsequently rose more than 30% in a month to set a new all-time high again. It then entered a down cycle after recording its last all-time high in May 2018.
In particular, it noted that a slowdown in the operating profit growth rate did not immediately lead to a stock decline. Even after the quarterly operating profit growth rate slowed, the stock attempted a new all-time high again, it said.
The researcher said, "We expect SK hynix's quarterly operating profit growth to continue through the fourth quarter of 2027," adding, "If we apply the past stock price formula, there is still room to attempt a new all-time high again through the first half of 2027."
At the same time, it assessed that the recent plunge was excessively steep compared with the past. The researcher said, "When the first peak was recorded on Oct. 11, 2017, the stock corrected about 27% over about four months, but then rose 30% in a month to set a second all-time high," adding, "This year, after the peak on June 25, 2026, a 55% correction came within a month."
Even so, it diagnosed that the memory industry itself remains solid. The researcher said, "Through 2027, operating profits for memory companies are expected to continue to increase," adding, "No signals of oversupply are being detected at all, and the third-quarter DRAM average selling price (ASP) increase is also expected to be higher than previous estimates."
He added, "Even if we exclude all those discussions about how AI infrastructure investment could change the long-term margin structure of memory and apply only the stock price formula from past upcycles, semiconductor stocks are not over yet."