"Samsung Electronics at 670,000 won, SK hynix at 5 million won": Target prices for the semiconductor duo surge again

[Financial News] Target prices for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have surged once again. Even as stock price volatility in the semiconductor sector widens, the rivalry between Samsung Electronics and SK hynix for the top spot among domestic blue chips is heating up day by day.

According to Newsis on the 25th, market expectations for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix continue to rise. Forecasts are emerging that Samsung Electronics shares could nearly double from current levels, while SK hynix is also being discussed as having room to climb to the 5 million won range.
For Samsung Electronics, Nomura Securities recently stood out by raising its target price from 590,000 won to 670,000 won. The brokerage based its view on second-quarter earnings that are expected to beat estimates, helped by performance bonus provisions that came in lower than initially expected. That implies more than 90% upside from the previous day's closing price of 340,500 won.
Nomura Securities had previously also raised its target price for SK hynix to 5 million won. Given that SK hynix is trading at 2.58 million won, the brokerage is effectively projecting nearly a doubling from current levels, just as it did for Samsung Electronics.
Along with the string of target-price hikes from brokerages, investors are focusing on the market-cap battle between the two companies. Based on the previous day's closing price, Samsung Electronics had a market capitalization of 1,990.6579 trillion won on a common-share basis, while SK hynix's market cap stood at 1,838.7721 trillion won. The gap between the two was about 151.8858 trillion won.
On the 22nd, SK hynix briefly took the top spot among domestic listed companies for the first time, causing a major shift. Samsung Electronics then reclaimed the No. 1 position just two days later, intensifying attention on market capitalization. The gap has narrowed to the point where daily share-price moves could flip the ranking.

As a result, the race for the leading market-cap position is expected to become even fiercer. Still, because both companies represent the domestic stock market, it is difficult at this point to predict a clear one-sided advantage. The fact that Korean brokerages are raising their target prices one after another also reflects this environment.
So far this month, Daol Investment & Securities and iM Securities have both raised their target prices for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Hana Securities also lifted its target price for Samsung Electronics, while Hanwha Investment & Securities and Hyundai Motor Securities raised their outlook for SK hynix.
Ko Young-min, a researcher at Daol Investment & Securities who set the highest target price among domestic brokerages for Samsung Electronics at 585,000 won, said, "Samsung Electronics is in the most favorable position during a broad-based price upcycle, and with the HBM4 effect also coming into play, this is a period when its ideal earnings momentum can stand out among competitors." He added, "Even though this is a phase in which it could stand out the most among the three major memory makers in the second half, the recent pullback should be met with an active overweight strategy."
Park Jun-young, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities who raised SK hynix's target price to 4.3 million won, said, "SK hynix is no longer a company with extreme earnings volatility. It is transforming into a company that can generate consistently high profits." He added, "SK hynix is aiming to list ADRs within this year, and with the ADR listing, the opportunity to be valued alongside peer companies in the U.S. market is drawing closer."
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter