"ROBOTIS Is the Only Company in the Sector Facing Excess Demand"—Hanmi Pharmaceutical Joins Forces With Roche, Targeting 2.3 Trillion Won in Obesity Drug Sales [Stocktopia]

[Financial News] Here is a roundup of reports from major securities firms as of the morning of September 10.
ROBOTIS was assessed as the only company in the sector facing excess demand, as strong sales of Hugging Face robots are driving up actuator supply volumes.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical was recognized for its drug-development capabilities after licensing its obesity drug candidate to Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche. TES, a front-end semiconductor equipment maker, is also expanding the applications of its equipment beyond NAND flash memory to DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), while its order backlog has climbed to a record high.
◆ ROBOTIS (108490)— Korea Investment & Securities / Researcher Choi Geon
- Target price: 450,000 won (maintained) | Previous-day closing price: 310,000 won
- Investment opinion: Buy (maintained)
Korea Investment & Securities maintained its 450,000-won target price for ROBOTIS, saying the company is expected to increase actuator supply volumes on the back of strong sales of Hugging Face robots.
ROBOTIS supplies actuators to Pollen Robotics, the robotics subsidiary of AI developer platform company Hugging Face. Microduck, the bipedal robot launched on the 27th of last month, contains 15 actuators, while nine are installed in Reachy Mini, a conversational robot designed to sit on a desk.
Researcher Choi estimated, "As Hugging Face's robot production ramps up in earnest after 2027, ROBOTIS's actuator supply volumes to Hugging Face will gradually increase. In the medium to long term, 3.9 million units are expected to be supplied for Microduck and the desktop robot Reachy Mini, generating approximately 78 billion won in revenue from Hugging Face."
He added, "In addition to Hugging Face, requests for actuator supplies and capacity expansion from Chinese humanoid robot companies and North American customers continue. ROBOTIS's current actuator order backlog stands at more than approximately 500,000 units." He consequently assessed ROBOTIS as "the only company in the sector currently facing excess demand."※ ActuatorAn actuator is a component that receives an electrical signal and produces physical movement. It serves as a robot's joint and muscle. Because it accounts for the largest share of manufacturing costs in humanoid robots, component makers' sales rise whenever a robot is sold.
◆ Hanmi Pharmaceutical (128940)— KB Securities / Researcher Shin Ji-hoon
- Target price: 650,000 won (raised 12.1%; previous target: 580,000 won) | Previous-day closing price: 494,500 won
- Investment opinion: Buy (maintained)
KB Securities raised its target price for Hanmi Pharmaceutical to 650,000 won, reflecting the impact of the company's licensing deal with Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche for the obesity drug candidate HM17321.
The current obesity treatment market is dominated by glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs such as Wegovy from Denmark's Novo Nordisk and Mounjaro from Eli Lilly and Company of the United States. As a late entrant, Roche needs a differentiated weapon.
Researcher Shin said, "As a late entrant, Roche definitely needs a point of differentiation to penetrate the obesity market. We believe it will develop HM17321 as a key option, and, as is already being attempted with amylin, it may develop the drug not only as a monotherapy but also in combination with GLP-1."
He continued, "We estimate HM17321's sales in its fifth year after launch at $1.75 billion, or approximately 2.3 trillion won. If its indications expand to age-related diseases or clinical results are proven, we could raise the estimate further."
There is also another factor to watch beyond the Roche deal. Hanmi Pharmaceutical's internally developed drug efpeglenatide is scheduled to launch within the year, and Researcher Shin identified how quickly it establishes itself in the market as a factor that will influence the stock price going forward.※ Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)GLP-1 is a hormone released by the intestines after eating that creates a feeling of fullness and regulates blood sugar. Drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro reduce appetite by mimicking this hormone.※ efpeglenatideefpeglenatide is a GLP-1 obesity drug developed by Hanmi Pharmaceutical using its own technology. If approved, it will become the first GLP-1 obesity drug commercialized by a Korean pharmaceutical company using its own technology.
◆ TES (095610)— IBK Securities / Researcher Kang Min-gu
- Target price: 210,000 won (new) | Previous-day closing price: 154,300 won
- Investment opinion: Buy (new)
IBK Securities initiated coverage of TES and issued a Buy rating with a target price of 210,000 won.
TES manufactures front-end equipment that deposits thin films on wafers. Its main equipment, the amorphous carbon layer (ACL), applies a protective coating to prevent patterns from collapsing during circuit etching, while backside deposition (BSD) supports the back of the wafer and prevents warping.
Researcher Kang introduced TES as "a front-end equipment manufacturer whose demand increases as the number of semiconductor layers rises." He added, "With the semiconductor industry presenting roadmaps for more than 1,000 layers, demand for TES equipment is also expected to expand in line with the trend toward increasingly tall structures."
He said, "This is the point at which concerns over declining DRAM-related revenue, limited customers, and an insufficient equipment portfolio—factors that had discounted TES—are being resolved simultaneously. In particular, BSD equipment is expected to expand its applications beyond NAND to HBM and DRAM." The assessment is that the company, once dependent on NAND flash memory alone, is changing its business profile by expanding into DRAM and HBM.
The order backlog has also grown noticeably. Researcher Kang stated, "TES's largest order backlog over the past 10 years was only 86.9 billion won, but it reached 206.9 billion won in the second quarter, setting a new record."※ Amorphous Carbon Layer (ACL)ACL is a protective coating applied during the etching process to prevent patterns on the wafer surface from collapsing as semiconductor circuits are etched. As more layers are stacked, etching takes longer and a stronger protective coating is required, making ACL essential to the competition to build higher-layer NAND flash memory.※ Backside Deposition (BSD)BSD is a process that applies a support layer to the back of a thin, disk-shaped wafer to prevent it from bending. Even slight warping can misalign fine circuits and cause defects, so the process becomes essential as manufacturing grows more precise.

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