Buy less Samsung, add more SK hynix ... Savvy investors also pick battery stocks [The 1% Investors’ Picks]

[Financial News] Top-performing investors increased their purchases of SK hynix, while their net purchases of Samsung Electronics fell to around a quarter of the previous week’s level. They at least doubled their net purchases of SIMMTECH, while SK Innovation and LG Energy Solution also ranked among the most net-purchased stocks.■ SK hynix net purchases up 15% ... SIMMTECH rises to No. 4According to the “Detailed Trading Activity of Top-Performing Customers (the 25,000 customers with the highest returns over the previous three months)” provided by KIWOOM Securities on the 25th, SK hynix ranked first in net purchases over the 19th–23rd, with net purchases totaling ₩140.1 billion. Samsung Electronics followed at ₩25.3 billion. The two stocks retained their first- and second-place rankings from the previous week.
The rankings were unchanged, but purchase volumes moved in opposite directions. Net purchases of SK hynix rose 15.5% from ₩121.3 billion the previous week (the 12th–16th). By contrast, Samsung Electronics fell 75.4%, from ₩102.6 billion. Combined net purchases of the two stocks dropped 26.2%, from ₩224 billion to ₩165.3 billion.
Since the review of a potential listing of Solidigm was halted, attention has turned to the possibility that SK hynix could strengthen shareholder returns. Kim Sun-woo, a researcher at Meritz Securities, forecast, “There is a strong likelihood that this earnings briefing will present a strengthened shareholder-return plan that exceeds existing expectations.”
Among semiconductor component stocks, SIMMTECH stood out for its rise in the rankings. Its net purchases increased from ₩3.8 billion the previous week to ₩7.9 billion, lifting it from ninth to fourth place. Samsung Electro-Mechanics held third place with ₩15.9 billion, while Hanmi Semiconductor entered the rankings in 12th place with ₩2.6 billion. Meanwhile, SK Square and Jusung Engineering, which ranked fourth and fifth the previous week, dropped out of the top 15 stocks.
Kim Min-kyung, a researcher at Hana Securities, said of SIMMTECH, “Rising demand for conventional DRAM and NAND in data centers is driving increased demand for memory package substrates,” and analyzed that “structural growth will continue as the share of high-value-added products expands.”■ SK Innovation and LG Energy Solution enter the top ranks ... selective buying of battery-related stocksAmong battery-related stocks, SK Innovation and LG Energy Solution, which had both been outside the top 15 the previous week, entered the net-purchase rankings at sixth and 13th place, with ₩5.2 billion and ₩2.3 billion, respectively.
Samsung SDI fell from seventh to eighth place as its net purchases declined from ₩5.4 billion the previous week to ₩4.3 billion. Daejoo Electronic Materials and Isu Specialty Chemical, which had ranked 13th and 15th, respectively, the previous week, dropped out of the top ranks.
Elsewhere, Elice ranked fifth with ₩7.5 billion. Korea Circuit placed seventh with ₩5.1 billion, and Daeduck Electronics ranked ninth with ₩3.8 billion. Doosan Enerbility (₩3.2 billion), Hanwha Ocean (₩3.1 billion), Hanwha Aerospace (₩2.2 billion), and Hyundai Motor (₩2.1 billion) were also among the top-ranked stocks.
SK Innovation’s lubricant base oil business is also seen as having growth potential. Analysts say SK Enmove, which has production facilities spread across multiple countries, could secure new customers thanks to its stable supply. Jeon Yu-jin, a researcher at iM Securities, forecast, “If SK Enmove benefited from strong earnings in 2026 due to a sharp rise in prices, in 2027–2028 we can expect the effect of higher volumes, apart from the gradual stabilization of prices at lower levels.”   
[email protected] Bae Han-geul Reporter