[Edaily Reporter KIM YOON-JEONG ] “I thought the market would rebound after a few days of correction, but it’s kept falling more than I expected, so I’m worried.”
Office worker Jeong Eun-bin (41) bought SK hynix shares in the 2.5 million won range earlier this month. Anticipating a repeat of the pattern where the stock rebounds after a short-term correction, she even tapped into her overdraft account to invest—but her expectations were off the mark. With the stock price recently dropping to 1.55 million won, her losses have widened. “I’m not expecting it to reach 3 million won,” she said. “I plan to sell as soon as it recovers to around 2.2 million won.”
Another investor, Lee Hyung-woo (32), also recently bought SK hynix shares at 1.85 million won and has since fallen into the red. Lee remains optimistic about the memory semiconductor market and the artificial intelligence (AI) investment cycle. However, he expressed concern that a recovery might take a long time.
As a result, retail investors who recently bought leading semiconductor stocks in anticipation of a short-term rebound are growing increasingly anxious. While quite a few investors purchased SamsungElectronics and SK hynix near their recent highs, it turns out that half of them have already fallen into the red. Consequently, attention is turning to how long it took these two stocks to recover their previous all-time highs in the past.

◇Retail Investors Who Chased Prices at Their Peaks… More Than Half in the Red
According to the Korea Exchange, SamsungElectronics closed regular trading on the 29th at 208,500 won, down 5.23% (11,500 won) from the previous trading day, while SK hynix closed at 1,401,000 won, down 9.61% (149,000 won). Compared to their intraday highs earlier in the session, SamsungElectronics’ closing price was down 44.3%, while SK hynix’s was down 53.1%.
SamsungElectronics hit an intraday high of 374,500 won on June 19, and its closing price high was 362,500 won, recorded on June 18. SK hynix hit an intraday high of 2,987,000 won on June 25, while its highest closing price was 2,919,000 won, recorded on June 22.
The sharp drop in stock prices is also causing paper losses for retail investors to mount rapidly. According to NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES’ mobile trading system (MTS) “Namuga,” as of the 27th, 44% of SamsungElectronics investors were in the red. The average purchase price was 206,044 won. For SK hynix, 59% of investors were in the red, with an average purchase price of 1,735,737 won.

◇Halved in the Past…It Took Several Years to Recover
In the past, both stocks recovered to their previous highs following sharp corrections. However, it took a considerable amount of time for them to fully recover.
On January 11, 2021, SamsungElectronics hit an intraday high of 96,800 won, fueling expectations that the stock would reach 100,000 won. On a closing price basis, it closed at 90,600 won the following day, January 12. After a prolonged correction, it surpassed its previous high on October 16, 2025, reaching 97,700 won during intraday trading—marking the first time in approximately 4 years and 9 months that it had exceeded that level.
SK hynix hit an intraday high of 150,500 won on March 2, 2021, and closed at 146,500 won on the same day. Subsequently, on February 15, 2024, it opened at 151,300 won, surpassing its previous high for the first time in about 2 years and 11 months.
◇Target Prices Lowered, but… “Damage to Fundamentals Is Limited”
On the same day, reports were released by securities firms lowering their target prices for SamsungElectronics and SK hynix. MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES lowered its target prices for SamsungElectronics and SK hynix—previously 550,000 won and 4.2 million won, respectively—by 33% to 370,000 won and 2.8 million won. However, the firm maintained its “Buy” rating, noting that there have been no significant changes in the memory market conditions or earnings outlook.

Kim Young-geon, an analyst at MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES, explained the rationale behind the target price cuts for the two companies: “While we believed the stock price correction driven by expectations of lower NAND contract prices had run its course, concerns over China’s efforts to localize lithography equipment persisted.” He added, “Regarding the latter, we determined that its potential impact on earnings estimates through 2028 is limited, so we only lowered the target multiples.” This means that the target price was lowered not because the companies’ fundamentals have deteriorated, but because the benchmark used to set the target price has been lowered as stock prices across the entire semiconductor industry have fallen. However, he also noted, “While the company’s memory ASP is expected to rise next year as well, it seems inevitable that the rate of increase will be more moderate than this year.”
Regarding SamsungElectronics, Analyst Kim stated, “Despite a sharp decline of more than 50% from its peak, we do not anticipate any deterioration in fundamentals,” adding, “At current stock price levels, where the dividend yield has risen sharply, we believe increasing exposure is a valid strategy.”
Regarding SK hynix, he noted, “Considering the cash secured through the recent issuance of ADRs and the recovery of investment funds from Kioxia, net cash is estimated to reach 420 trillion won by the end of 2027, creating a buffer of 300 trillion won compared to the company’s target of 100 trillion won in stable cash reserves.” He added, “Given the company’s earnings resilience and financial stability, the recent decline in its stock price appears largely excessive.”