[Edaily Reporter kyoungeun kim ] On the 26th, Hana Securities maintained its “Buy” rating on SK hynix(000660)and significantly raised its target price by 30.9%, from 2.75 million won to 3.60 million won. This decision is based on the assessment that several positive factors are converging simultaneously: rising prices for standard DRAM in the second half of the year, the potential for higher prices for High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) in 2027, and a valuation premium resulting from the listing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).

Kim Rok-ho, an analyst at Hana Securities, emphasized, “A strategy of increasing exposure remains valid in a period where the potential for earnings and multiple upgrades persists.” The stock has upside potential of 23.4% relative to its current price (2,917,000 won as of June 25).
Second-quarter earnings are projected at 87.1 trillion won in revenue (up 292% year-over-year and 66% quarter-over-quarter) and 67.6 trillion won in operating profit (up 638% year-over-year and 80% quarter-over-quarter). Memory price assumptions remain unchanged, while the average exchange rate for the second quarter was revised slightly upward (from 1,487 won to 1,512 won) to reflect the high exchange rate in June.
Analyst Kim stated, “Amid stronger-than-expected memory prices, SK hynix’s relative share of HBM revenue is high, so the increase in general DRAM prices is lower than that of its competitors,” but added, “We estimate the company will achieve high profitability based on a product mix centered on HBM, high-specification DRAM, and enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs).” The operating profit margin for DRAM is projected to reach 82% in the second quarter, while the NAND operating profit margin is expected to reach 67%.
The key point of this report is a significant upward revision of earnings estimates. SK hynix’s 2026 operating profit has been raised by 8% from the previous estimate to 294 trillion won, and the 2027 figure has been raised by 18% to 435 trillion won.
There are two main reasons for the upward revisions. First, the firm expects prices for standard DRAM—particularly Low-Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR)—to exceed current assumptions in the second half of 2026. The assumed growth rates for DRAM average selling prices (ASPs) in the second half were raised to 18% in the third quarter (up from 11%) and 3% in the fourth quarter (up from 0%). For NAND, the growth rates were also raised to 23% in the third quarter (up from 20%) and 5% in the fourth quarter (up from 0%).
Analyst Kim explained, “In addition to the upward revision of standard DRAM price assumptions, there is a strong possibility that HBM price assumptions will be raised in the 2027 earnings estimates.” He added, “We understand that HBM price negotiations for 2027 are currently underway, and since standard DRAM prices have risen approximately fourfold over the past year, we expect this to be factored in to some extent.” Since this forecast does not yet reflect the rise in HBM prices for 2027, further upward revisions are inevitable once the outlook for HBM prices becomes clearer.
From a valuation perspective, the rationale for an upward revision is also clear. The ADR listing schedule has been finalized, and Micron’s earnings report has provided concrete details regarding long-term supply contracts. Analyst Kim emphasized, “Earnings related to long-term supply contracts, much like HBM, offer very high earnings visibility, making it possible to apply a premium multiple compared to standard memory,” adding, “The fact that memory companies are being granted justification for higher multiples is clearly positive.”