[Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun ] On the 29th, MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES lowered its target price for SK hynix(000660) by 33%, from 4.2 million won to 2.8 million won. This move reflects the potential for a decline in NAND contract prices, the IPO of China’s Changxin Memory (CXMT), and issues surrounding the development of DUV (deep ultraviolet) lithography equipment. However, the firm maintained its “Buy” rating, noting that the recent stock price decline is excessive given the company’s earnings and financial conditions.

Kim Young-geon, an analyst at MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES, stated in a report released today, “As stock prices across the industry have fallen due to China’s efforts to localize lithography equipment, an adjustment to SK hynix’s target price is unavoidable.” However, he assessed that “changes in market conditions and fundamentals are limited,” adding that “the decline is primarily driven by valuation.”

The target price-to-book (P/B) ratio used to calculate the target price was lowered from the previous global industry average of 6.5x to 4.6x. He explained that, based on the current stock price, SK hynix’s forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for 2026 has fallen to 4.6x, and its P/B ratio to 3.0x.

The company’s fundamentals are still considered robust. Google Cloud’s order backlog has increased from $468 billion to $514 billion, and the spot price of 16Gb DRAM has continued its upward trend for over 50 trading days, setting a new record high. Analyst Kim noted, “The strong prices reflect tight market conditions.”

The company’s capacity for shareholder returns was also assessed as sufficient. If current trends continue, net cash is estimated to reach approximately 420 trillion won by the end of 2027, significantly exceeding the target cash reserve of 100 trillion won. Analyst Kim stated, “Considering the company’s earnings resilience and financial stability, the recent decline in the stock price appears largely excessive.”

Researcher Kim identified the following as key points to watch during the earnings conference call scheduled for that day: △ the progress and proportion of Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) △ whether the memory supply shortage will worsen in 2027 △ the shipment schedule for 6th-generation High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) and growth outlook for 2027 △ the details of the Memory-as-a-Service (MaaS) business △ and the possibility of early shareholder returns.