[Edaily Reporter Park Jeong-soo] On the 4th, Hana Securities maintained its “Buy” rating and target price of 50,000 won for #HFR, citing expectations that the company will benefit from expanded investment by U.S. telecommunications carrier AT&T and the phasing out of Chinese-made equipment. The closing price on the 2nd was 30,950 won.
Kim Hong-sik, an analyst at Hana Securities, stated, “HFR is highly likely to be selected again as AT&T’s front-haul vendor in the upcoming spectrum auction, which could lead to a new earnings high.” He added, “Considering the global system integrator (SI) competitive landscape, AT&T’s vendor selection history, and Open RAN trends, the likelihood of HFR benefiting is high.”
Currently, following the withdrawal of Chinese equipment manufacturers, the major SI vendors available for AT&T to choose from include Ericsson, Nokia, Fujitsu, and Samsung. In 2023, AT&T selected Ericsson as its main base station vendor and replaced a large portion of its existing Nokia equipment.
Researcher Kim explained, “While Ericsson is a powerhouse in wireless equipment, its position in the fronthaul sector is limited, and it is pushing for the expansion of Open RAN.” He added, “From Ericsson’s perspective, Fujitsu Onefinity—which possesses fronthaul competitiveness without competing in the North American base station market—is effectively the only partner.”
He assessed, “The fact that AT&T, Ericsson, and Fujitsu conducted Open RAN call trials last year is part of the same trend,” adding, “HFR was Fujitsu’s key vendor at the time and continues to maintain a close cooperative relationship, so it is highly likely to retain its supplier status.”
Hana Securities projected that HFR’s 2027 export performance would reach an all-time high, considering the effects of AT&T’s expanded capital expenditures (CAPEX) and the increase in market share resulting from the phasing out of Chinese telecommunications equipment. It estimated 2027 revenue at 337.3 billion won and operating profit at 75.4 billion won.
The stock is also seen as having ample room for further gains. Analyst Kim noted, “The stock’s rise has been limited compared to expectations of AT&T’s expanded investment,” adding, “The current stock price does not fully reflect expectations of benefits from the spectrum auction.” He added, “The valuation is low even when compared to other stocks in the wireless equipment sector,” and noted, “If domestic auctions follow the U.S. spectrum auction, further price increases are possible.”