"SK hynix's '3.8 million-nix' target is still conservative"... Samsung Electronics outlook points to 550,000 won as operating profit is seen reaching 500 trillion won [Zootopia]

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[Financial News] Here is a roundup of major brokerage reports as of the morning of May 27.
SK hynix received another target price upgrade as the broader memory sector continued to be re-rated, with analysts saying the stock still has plenty of room to rise.
Samsung Electronics was also viewed as undervalued compared with global rivals, even as the memory market enters a boom driven by surging demand. LG Innotek was identified as a direct beneficiary of the shortage of high-performance substrates for AI data centers, with its package solutions business expected to become a key pillar of earnings improvement.
\r\n\r\n◆SK hynix (000660)― Mirae Asset Securities / Analyst Kim Young-geon
- Target price: 3.8 million won (up 18.8% from 3.2 million won) | Previous close: 2.052 million won
- Investment opinion: Buy (maintained)
Mirae Asset Securities raised its target price for SK hynix to 3.8 million won, reflecting the broader revaluation trend across the global memory sector. Shinhan Securities and Korea Investment & Securities had previously set the same target price at 3.8 million won.
Analyst Kim Young-geon said the target was lifted by applying valuation levels seen at overseas memory rivals such as Micron in the U.S. and KIOXIA Corporation in Japan. He described it as "a high but conservative target."
Kim also said, "Although the stock has already risen sharply, there is still plenty of upside." He added that higher memory prices and the expansion of long-term supply agreements (LTAs) could push the average return on equity (ROE) to as high as 66% between 2026 and 2028.※ROE (Return on Equity)This is a profitability measure that shows how much profit a company generates in a year from shareholders' equity. If 100 won is invested and 66 won is earned, ROE is 66%. The higher the figure, the more efficiently the company is using its capital.
\r\n\r\n◆Samsung Electronics (005930)― Mirae Asset Securities / Analyst Kim Young-geon
- Target price: 550,000 won (up 14.6% from 480,000 won) | Previous close: 299,000 won
- Investment opinion: Buy (maintained)
Mirae Asset Securities raised its target price for Samsung Electronics to 550,000 won, saying the stock remains cheap compared with global memory rivals.
Analyst Kim Young-geon said valuation indicators such as PBR and PER for Samsung Electronics remain well below the averages of major memory companies, including Micron in the U.S. and KIOXIA Corporation in Japan.
He added, "Samsung Electronics' biggest strength is that it has the world's largest memory production scale," and emphasized that "its DRAM and NAND flash market shares are both among the global leaders, so it benefits the most when the industry improves."
He also noted that "the ability to produce most key AI server components in-house is another competitive advantage."※NAND FlashThis is a memory semiconductor that retains stored data even when power is turned off. It is widely used in smartphone storage, USB drives and SSDs. Unlike DRAM, which temporarily holds working data, NAND flash serves as a long-term "storage room" for photos and files.
\r\n\r\n◆LG Innotek (011070)― KB Securities / Head of Research Kim Dong-won
- Target price: 1.6 million won (up 33.3% from 1.2 million won) | Previous close: 1.068 million won
- Investment opinion: Buy (maintained)
KB Securities raised its target price for LG Innotek to 1.6 million won, saying that the shortage of high-performance substrates is likely to persist as investment in AI data centers expands, making the package solutions business a key driver of earnings improvement.
KB Securities expects LG Innotek's operating profit this year to reach 1.1943 trillion won, up about 80% from a year earlier, and forecasts second-quarter operating profit to surge 1,185% year on year.
Head of Research Kim Dong-won said, "The substrate cost share in NVIDIA's Vera Rubin platform is expected to more than double from the previous Blackwell generation," adding that LG Innotek's substrate business is likely to benefit directly from supply shortages, much like memory semiconductors.
He also said, "Even in the second quarter, which is the peak off-season, the company is operating at 100% utilization," and concluded that the supply shortage is unlikely to ease in the near term.※Package substrateThis component acts as a base that connects a semiconductor chip to the mainboard, allowing electrical signals and power to flow between them. High-performance substrates used in AI accelerators are difficult to manufacture because they are large and require circuit layers stacked dozens of times. As a result, they are more expensive than conventional products and carry higher added value.
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sms@fnnews.com Sung Min-seo Reporter